MOREHEAD, Ky. – Jacksonville State made the most of its extended stay in Morehead, Kentucky.
The Gamecocks (8-15, 4-4 Ohio Valley Conference) were snowed in for two days and had their road game at the Eagles (10-9, 4-3 OVC) pushed back a day after 8-10 inches of snow fell on the area Friday. They brought the heat to Johnson Arena from the opening tip and grabbed a 78-74 road win.
Erik Durham made his first six 3-point attempts and led the Gamecocks to a 10-for-14 first half from behind the arc to open a 20-point lead. JSU then held off several late MSU charges to grab its first win at MSU since 2012 and just the fourth in program history.
Greg Tucker took over in the second half, scoring 13 of his career-high 24 in the final 20 minutes. More importantly, it was his timely drives and baskets that stopped MSU runs and kept JSU on top until the final horn.
Tucker's 24 and Durham's 20 made them the first Gamecocks to score 20 points in the same game since Nov. 11, 2013, when
Darion Rackley and Brian Williams each had 23 at Chicago State.
JSU got double figures from four players in its third win in the last four games, two of which have been on the road. Its only blemish in that stretch was a three-point loss at Eastern Kentucky on Thursday.
Malcolm Drumwright scored 13 on a night in which he struggled early from the floor, but he made some key baskets down the stretch to help JSU hold on and dished nine assists for the second time in his last three games. Freshman
Andre Statam made is first three 3-pointers to start his 11-point night, while
Jeremy Watson led all players with nine rebounds.
The Eagles got 22 points from Xavier Moon and 15 from Anthony Elechi, who also grabbed eight boards.
The Gamecocks started the game on fire, thanks to Durham's outside shooting. The junior was 6-for-6 from the floor and 5-for-5 from behind the arc by the halfway point of the opening period.
JSU started fast and used a 17-0 run to extend a 10-8 lead into a 27-8 advantage with 11:12 on the clock. The Gamecocks would lead 30-10 before Morehead State started to slowly cut into the lead.
The Eagles pulled to within 11 on an old-fashioned 3-point play from Elechi with 14 seconds on the clock, but a Drumwright jumper at the horn sent the teams into the half with the Gamecocks leading 41-28.
Durham led all scorers with his 17 first-half points, thanks to a 6-for-6 start that included making his first five attempts from behind the arc. Tucker added 11 by going 3-for-6 from 3-point range.
The Eagles took control to start the second half. They opened on a 12-2 run that cut their deficit to 43-40 with 15 minutes to play. The Gamecocks stopped the bleeding on a drive from Tucker and a trey from Statam that pushed it back to a nine-point lead at 49-40.
MSU got within four at 53-49, but a pair of free throws from Tucker and a scoop-and-score from Drumwright gave the Gamecocks a little breathing room again at 57-49 with just under nine minutes on the clock.
After Durham's first basket of the second half, a 3-pointer from the corner, made it a 62-55 JSU lead, the Eagles made another charge. They pulled to within a point at 62-61 on another Elechi 3-point play with 4:25 left.
Tucker drove and got contact to push the lead back to three and then got a lay up to make it a 66-61 score with 2:57 left. The Gamecocks went to work on the defensive end, forcing turnovers on four of the next five MSU possessions to create some separation.
The Gamecocks took advantage of their trips to the stripe, making their first 16 in the second half to keep the Eagles at bay and seal the win.
The Gamecocks return home for a three-game homestand that will start Thursday at 7 p.m. against Belmont. JSU will host Tennessee State Saturday at 4:30 p.m. before wrapping up the home stretch on Feb. 6 against Tennessee Tech.
