MEMPHIS – Jacksonville State closed out the non-conference schedule with a 74-48 loss to Memphis on Wednesday night at the FedEx Forum.

For the second consecutive outing, a scoring drought by the Gamecocks proved to be pivotal in the road setback.  JSU (9-16) squandered a 15 point lead last Saturday at Tennessee State in a 45-43 loss in Nashville.  JSU's cold shooting moved with it to the west end of the Volunteer State as the Tigers put together 17-3 scoring run over a six-minute span.  The UofM (14-8) run came after JSU had trimmed a 10-point, 34-24 halftime lead down to eight two minutes deep in the final half after back-to-back jumpers by D.J. Felder. 

The Tigers took advantage of JSU's shooting woes on the offensive end of the floor as they connected on over 50 percent from the field.  UofM's run was sparked by Trahson Burrell and Nick King.  The combo combined for 19 of UofM's 40-point second half output.  JSU went over eight minutes without a basket and had just three free throws while the Tigers pushed the lead out to as many as 26 points during the drought with 9:47 left to play.  Jeremy Watson knocked down a three pointer at the 9:16 mark to give JSU its first field goal since 18:33 in the second half.

The Tigers took their largest lead of 34 points at the 3:29 mark of the second half.  UofM shot 47 percent from the field in the second half and nearly 50 percent for the game at 30-of-61.

The Gamecocks were 6-of-19 from the field in the second half alone and hit just 32.7 percent for the game.  The Red and White had 10 points from the free throw line in the final 20 minutes.  Turnovers plagued JSU all night as it was turned over 14 times, which equaled to 22 UofM points off those miscues.  The Tigers had just three turnovers in the game and were credited 20 assists on the night.
UofM placed five players in double figures in the scoring column, led by Shaq Goodwin's 16 points with 10 coming in the second half.  The Tigers' top scorer, Austin Nichols had 12 points, three under his season average but tallied seven blocks in the contest.  Burrell chipped in 13 points and four assists.  Kendren Johnson added 10 points.

JSU managed the first half thanks to 10 first half points from Malcolm Drumwright, who made his fourth start of the season against UofM.  Drumwright was limited to two points in the second half to post a team-high 12 points.  JaQuail Townser carded eight points, while Watson contributed eight points off the bench. 

The Gamecocks return to Ohio Valley Conference action with their third trip to the state of Tennessee on Saturday against Tennessee Tech. Tip off is set for 7:30 p.m. from Cookeville, Tennessee.  The JSU-TTU men's contest will follow the women's match up at 5:30 p.m.  Both games will be available on the Gamecock Sports Network and on the OVC Digital Network.