RICHMOND, Ky. – Jeremy Watson and the Jacksonville State men's basketball team gave Eastern Kentucky a run on Thursday but fell just short in a 91-88 road loss at McBrayer Arena.
 
Watson, a senior from Birmingham, notched his second double-double of the year with 26 points and 14 rebounds, but the Gamecocks (7-15, 3-4 Ohio Valley Conference) couldn't pull off their first win at the Colonels (12-9, 3-3 OVC) in their 12th trip.
 
The high-scoring game was a back-and-forth one early, with 15 of 16 total lead changes coming in the first half, but EKU used 20 second-half free throws on 26 attempts to hold off several JSU charges down the stretch.
 
Watson was 11-for-12 from the floor to lead the Gamecocks and grabbed 10 of his boards on the defensive glass. He was one of three JSU players in double figures, joined by sophomore Malcolm Drumwright's 19 on 7-for-13 shooting and freshman Andre Statam's 10 on a 3-for-4 night from the floor.
 
The Colonels got double figures from five players, led by Javontae Hawkins' 21 and Nick Mayo's 18. Hawkins also had 10 boards for the home team. Jarelle Reischel added 16 points, with he and Hawkins both shooting 11 free throws in the game.
 
Both teams exchanged blows for much of the first half, a span that saw three ties and 14 lead changes. EKU put together the half's big run, a 13-2 spurt that turned a 27-26 JSU lead into a 39-29 advantage for the Colonels. JSU crept back to make it a 42-37 deficit at the half.
 
Watson kept the Gamecocks in striking distance, going 6-for-7 from the floor and 3-for-4 from behind the arc to score 16 first-half points and pull down six boards. The rest of the Gamecocks were a combined 9-for-25 from the field and 1-for-10 from behind the arc. JSU assisted 12 of its 15 first-half baskets.
 
The Colonels got 11 apiece from Mayo and Babb-Harrison in the first 20 minutes.
 
The Gamecocks kept it in single digits until putting together an 8-2 run that cut EKU's lead to one at 54-53 with 13:38 to play. The Colonels answered with four in a row to pull back ahead, but five-straight points by JSU were capped by an Andre Statam 3-pointer that tied it at 58-58 with 11:00 remaining.
 
EKU scored nine of the next 14 points, seven of which came from the stripe, to pull back ahead and create a six-point lead at 69-63.
 
The Gamecocks would trail 76-70 before pulling back and tying the game at 79-79 on a Watson hook with 3:34 to play. A Drumwright free throw with 2:51 gave JSU its first lead of the half at 80-79.
 
EKU answered again, getting a drive from Hawkins and then a fast break layup from Reischel that gave the Colonels an 83-80 lead with 2:12 to play.
 
Townser drove and got to the line with just over a minute to play with a chance to cut into the lead but missed them both, setting up a pair of free throws from Hawkins that extended the Colonels lead to 85-80.
 
Reischel missed the back end of his free throw attempts and Drumwright drove straight to the basket to make it a two-point game with 25 seconds to play. Paul Jackson missed the front end of his two shots to keep it a one-possession game and Drumwright drove again to make it an 87-86 game with 18 seconds to play.
 
After a pair of Reischel charity shots made it 89-86, Statam's attempt to tie missed, but Watson put it back to cut it to one again with three seconds remaining. Jackson made both free throws and a Greg Tucker heave from past half court at the horn was too strong.
 
The Gamecocks are scheduled to play at Morehead State on Saturday in an 11 a.m. CT tip that will be carried live on the American Sports Network.