NASHVILLE – Freshman Ed Jones doubled his season points total with 18 at Belmont on Wednesday, but the Bruins escaped a late Jacksonville State charge to earn a 81-73 win at the Curb Event Center.
 
A native of Atlanta, Jones was 7-for-9 from the floor and 4-for-4 from the stripe to account for his career-high night. He was one of four Gamecocks (8-19, 4-8 Ohio Valley Conference) in double figures and led a 19-2 run in the second half that  erased a 19-point deficit and pulled JSU within two.
 
The Bruins (18-8, 10-2 OVC) had too much ammunition down the stretch, answering JSU's spurt with an 8-0 run that put the game out of reach. Evan Bradds led the home team with 18 points on an 8-for-12 shooting night and also pulled down a game-high nine rebounds.
 
JSU needed someone to step up after losing three starters to injury in the last three games. The absence of leading scorer Malcolm Drumwright, sharp shooter Erik Durham and inside man Christian Cunningham opened opportunities in the lineup, and Jones took advantage of his on Wednesday. He also had two boards and two blocks.
 
The injuries came at the most brutal stretch of the Gamecocks' schedule, when they faced home-and-home matchups with the top three teams in the OVC – Belmont, Tennessee State and Tennessee Tech- in a row.
 
Junior Greg Tucker led JSU in the points column with 19, while senior JaQuail Townser had 14 and freshman Jared Hamilton 13. Townser and Hamilton each had five boards to lead JSU.
 
Taylor Barnette and Amanze Egekeze each added 15 points for the Bruins, going a combined 8-for-10 from behind the arc.
 
The Bruins pulled out to an eight-point lead in the game's first six minutes and stretched it to 11 on a Bradds layup with 1:19 left in the half. JSU answered with the last seven points of the half, including a Townser trey at the buzzer to cut the Gamecocks' deficit to 37-33 at the intermission.
 
Belmont found the nets to start the second half and pulled away early. A short spurt made it a 10-point game, and then a 10-0 run put the home team in front 59-41.
 
The Gamecocks wouldn't go away, scoring 10 straight at one point during a 19-2 run that made it a two-point game at 66-64 with 6:17 to play. Jones scored 10 points in the 19-point stretch for JSU, including the first six and the final two on a jumper that cut the deficit to two.
 
Belmont had an answer next, scoring six quick points to create separation again. The last run would be the final blow to the Gamecocks' comeback hopes.
 
JSU will travel to Cookeville, Tenn., on Saturday for a 7:30 p.m. game at Tennessee Tech. The matchup will be JSU's fifth in a six-game stretch that pits it against the top three teams in the OVC twice each.