EVANSVILLE, Ind. – The Jacksonville State men's basketball team handed Evansville its first home loss Saturday, downing the Purple Aces 55-50 at the Ford Center.
 
In their return to the home of the Ohio Valley Conference Championships, the Gamecocks (6-4) claimed the program's first win over a Missouri Valley Conference opponent. The win ended a stretch of 34-consecutive non-conference home wins for EU (5-5).
 
Seniors Christian Cunningham and Jason Burnell each tallied double-doubles in a game that came down to points in the paint. Cunningham had 13 points and 15 boards, while Burnell has 10 points and 12 rebounds.
 
With just 21 of Jacksonville State's 55 points coming on jumpers, the JSU bigs received a boost from forward Jacara Cross off the bench. The junior scored seven, blocked two shots and pitched in two assists in 14 minutes of action.
 
"They were averaging nearly 90 points per game here," head coach Ray Harper said. "We did a terrific job on the defensive end. I thought Christian Cunningham and Jacara Cross were our two best players. Jacara scored a basket for us near the end of the end of the first half on his hustle, and Christian was very active around the basket, rebounding at a high level."
 
A slow offensive start saw the Gamecocks leading on two 3-point baskets, 6-5, after the first six minutes. Cunningham followed up with two dunks, including a one-handed put-back, that sparked the JSU shooters.
 
Cunningham and Burnell each tacked on four points each over the next six minutes to help the Gamecocks to a 23-11 lead on a 15-3 run.
 
Through the final five minutes of the first half, the JSU defense held Evansville to just five points on 2-of-9 shooting. A Ty Hudson 3-pointer at the buzzer gave the Gamecocks a 30-22 lead going to the break. JSU outscored UE 16-2 in the first.
 
Evansville flipped the script in the second half and tied the game 38-38 by the under-12 media timeout.
 
Following Hudson's third 3-pointer, a basket to begin the second half, the Aces went on an 13-6 run to bring the Gamecock lead to one, 36-35, after five minutes. A 3-pointer from Shamar Givance knotted the score for the first time since early in the first period.
 
The Aces' corrected their first-half miscues on the inside and scored 16 points in the paint in the final 20 minutes. The home team outscored JSU 28-25 in the closing period, but it wasn't enough to catch the Gamecocks.
 
Following the tie, Jacksonville State pulled away and kept a three-point buffer through the last six minutes of play. A defensive rebound for the Aces with less than a minute to go threatened overtime, but two Cunningham free throws with a second to go put the game out of reach.
 
Jacksonville State returns home Tuesday, Dec. 18 to take on North Alabama at Pete Mathews Coliseum. The game will be the first at The Pete since hosting Belmont on Feb. 22, 2018 before the March 19 tornados ripped the roof from the facility.
 
Season tickets and single-game tickets are now available for purchase online at JSUGamecocksTickets.com, by phone at (256) 782-8499 and on campus at the JSU Ticket Office at Kennamer Hall. Children 18-years-old and under and JSU students are admitted free.
 
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).