JACKSONVILLE – The Jacksonville State men's basketball team looks to bring a halt to their recent three-game skid on Wednesday night in Nashville, Tenn., against Belmont.
JSU (8-18, 4-7 Ohio Valley Conference) begins a difficult late-season stretch with the Bruins (17-8, 9-2 OVC) being the first of three straight road games for the Gamecocks against the top three teams in the league. Jax State currently sits one-game out of making the postseason OVC Tournament.
Belmont leads the series, 8-4, having won the first meeting of this season in Jacksonville, 72-63, just two weeks ago. That game saw JSU leading scorer, Malcolm Drumwright, leave the game in the first half with a shoulder injury, and freshman starter Christian Cunningham go down in the second half with a foot issue. Neither player has returned to the lineup since.
Along with junior Erik Durham's recent absence, the Gamecock lineup has been stretched thin over the past week. Seniors JaQuail Townser and Jeremy Watson have stepped up to fill the void created by injuries. Townser's averaging nearly 10 points per game to lead JSU on the offensive side, while Watson has increased his rebounds per game mark to 6.1, the 12th-best in the conference.
Against Tennessee Tech on Saturday, Townser, Watson, Greg Tucker and Jared Hamilton each played more than 35 minutes. Townser and Hamilton each reached double-digits scoring, while Watson recorded his third double-double of the season with 15 points and 14 boards.
In their first meeting of the season on Jan. 28, JSU held Belmont to 4-of-20 shooting from 3-point range. It was the fewest triples made in a game by the conference's top 3-point team since only making four against Morehead State on Valentine's Day of last season. The (.200) percentage was the lowest for the Bruins from beyond the arc in 55 games since their 2014-15 season-opener at Wright State, when they were 3-for-15 in a loss.
Wednesday's contest marks the first trip back to the Curb Events Center since last season's 103-82 loss. That marked the only time an opponent has scored triple digits against JSU during the James Green era, and the only occurrence overall in the last 262 games.
The game is set to tip at 7:30. It will be streamed on the OVC Digital Network, and live stats will be available on jsugameccocksports.com. Fans can also tune in to Mike Parris on the Gamecocks Sports Network for all the action on WLJS 91.9. .
