RICHMOND, Ky. – The Jacksonville State men's basketball team fell 68-65 Thursday night at Eastern Kentucky to drop its second game of the year to the Colonels.
 
EKU (11-19, 4-11 OVC) rallied from an 11-point deficit in the second half to complete the season sweep of the Gamecocks (16-14, 8-7 OVC). Forward Nick Mayo tallied a team-high 22 points – 16 of which came in the second period.
 
Gamecocks' senior Greg Tucker led JSU with 24 points, including a 4-for-10 mark from beyond the arc, while sophomore Christian Cunningham followed up with 14 points. Junior Norbertas Giga rebounded a career-high 13 despite receiving five fouls.
 
The first half got off to a slow start, not seeing a field goal until three minutes into play. Eastern Kentucky led 2-0 on a couple of free throws, but Jacara Cross tied it 2-2 on a jam to record the Gamecocks' first point of the game.
 
Both teams struggled from the field in the first period, combining to score 53 points in the stanza. Jacksonville State led 29-24 at the half after shooting just 29% from field goal range. EKU out-shot the Gamecocks with a 34.8% shooting percentage and knocked down two three-pointers, as opposed to JSU's one trey, but Jacksonville State was a solid 10-for-13 from the free throw line to control the game at the break.
 
The Colonels hopped on a 5-0 run to begin the closing half, but the Gamecocks responded with a 15-4 clip to take a 44-33 advantage at the 14:57 mark. Unfortunately, JSU saw its largest lead of the night diminish in five minutes. The score was tied four more times before EKU took a permanent lead on a Mayo jumper with 1:20 to play. Freshman Ashton Spears fired up a would-be-game-tying three at the buzzer, but it fell wide left of the rim.
 
JSU takes on Morehead State at 3:15 p.m. in the final game of the regular season.
 
For more information on the JSU men's basketball team, follow the Gamecocks on Twitter (@JSU_MBB). For more on all Gamecocks sports teams, follow the official social media accounts of JSU Athletics on Twitter (@JSUGamecocks), Facebook (Facebook.com/JSUGamecocks), Instagram (@JSUGamecocks) and Snapchat (@JSUGamecocks).