COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Junior Norbertas Giga led the Jacksonville State men's basketball team to a physical 74-59 win over Tennessee Tech on Saturday. The seven-foot Lithuanian scored a career-high 20 points en route to his fifth double-double of the year.
 
The Gamecocks (12-8, 4-1 OVC) now own their best conference record since the 2004-05 season and find themselves in possession of second place in the OVC East standings behind Belmont (11-4, 5-0 OVC).
 
The eventual 15-point victory didn't come without some second-half dramatics, however, as the Golden Eagles (7-13, 3-2 OVC) battled back from an 11-point deficit. Tennessee Tech tied the contest 52-52 at the 7:57 mark after finding a 15-11 run. Up until that point, the game had not been even since the opening tip.
 
Despite seeing the game knotted at 52, the Gamecocks never surrendered the lead. Following the close call, JSU went on a 10-1 run to help put the game out of reach. Giga, Christian Cunningham and Malcolm Drumwright combined to score 26 points in the final eight minutes to ensure Jacksonville State its largest marginal win over an OVC opponent since defeating UT Martin 77-46 on Feb. 25, 2012.
 
Jacksonville State out-rebounded Tennessee Tech 48-28 to tie its season-high, and its 18 offensive rebounds are the most against a Division I this year.
 
The Gamecocks led by as many as 10 points in the first half and took a 33-27 lead into the break. Jacara Cross was responsible for 10 first-half points and scored seven during an eight-minute clip. The freshman accounted for two-thirds of the JSU bench's points in the half.
 
JSU also out-rebounded the Golden Eagles 27-14 in the first period. Eleven were offensive rebounds, leading to 10 second-chance points for the Gamecocks.
 
The Music City is up next for Jacksonville State. The Gamecocks visit first-place Belmont on Jan. 19, then turn around and face Tennessee State on Jan. 21.
 
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