BLACKSBURG, Va. – The Jacksonville State men's basketball team started fast and took Atlantic Coast Conference foe Virginia Tech to the wire, but the Gamecocks fell to the Hokies 71-62 on Wednesday night.
 
James Green's young Gamecocks (2-2) opened the game with the hot hand to build an early four-point lead. They led the Hokies (1-1) by four until the five-minute mark of the first half, when a 9-0 run stretched into the second half and gave them the lead for good.
 
Jax State cut the deficit to two with 11:23 left and answered another run to pull to within three on an Erik Durham 3-pointer with 2:40 to play, but Tech converted from the line and off the offensive glass to hang on for the win.
 
Durham, a junior from Springfield, Mo., led all scorers with 21 points and also pulled down eight boards, both career highs, to pace JSU's upset attempt. Sophomore Malcolm Drumwright added 13 despite an off night from the floor that saw him go 6-for-20 and 1-for-6 from behind the arc.
 
Junior Greg Tucker and senior Jeremy Watson added 10 points, each. Freshman Jared Hamilton scored eight points for JSU, while also dishing three assists and pulling down three rebounds.
 
Chris Clarke came off the Va. Tech bench to notch a double-double of 12 points and 11 rebounds, while Zach LeDay had 15 points and nine boards for the Hokies.
 
The Hokies used length inside to hold a 54-29 advantage on the glass, including 20 offensive rebounds that led to 20 second-chance points in a nine-point win. JSU forced 17 turnovers and turned them into 15 points, while the Gamecocks committed just nine turnovers.
 
The Gamecocks didn't get to the free throw line until there was 5:30 remaining in the second half, while the Hokies only converted 15 of their 30 attempts from the stripe. JSU ended up going 6-for-8 from the free throw line.
 
Jax State heads to Rock Hill, S.C., where it will face Winthrop on Friday at 6 p.m. CT in a rematch from last year's meeting in Pete Mathews Coliseum. JSU won that meeting 79-76 on a JaQuail Townser 3-pointer at the buzzer. The game will be broadcast on the Gamecock Sports Network with Mike Parris calling the action.