JACKSONVILLE – Jacksonville State's men's and women's basketball teams open the final full road weekend of the 2017-18 campaign at Murray State on Thursday inside the CFSB Center.
Men's Basketball
Jacksonville State (18-9. 9-5) vs Murray State (20-5, 12-2)
Series: MSU leads 20-2
Looking to stay high in a tight conference race, head coach
Ray Harper's Gamecocks will battle Murray State on Thursday evening, looking for the program's first-ever season sweep of the Racers after a 76-71 victory at home earlier this season.
Both all-time wins in the series for the Gamecocks have come inside Pete Mathews Coliseum, as Jax State continues the search for its first victory at the CFSB Center on the campus of Murray State.
The loss to JSU is just one of MSU's two league setbacks this season which places the Racers in a tie with Belmont for first-place atop the OVC standings at 12-2.
One game after setting the program's Division I record for career starts, senior
Malcolm Drumwright sits just 19 points away from becoming JSU's second all-time Division I leading scorer. Drumwright's 19 double-digit scoring performances lead JSU this year, one ahead of
Jason Burnell's 18.
Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. and will be streamed live on the OVC Digital Network.
Women's Basketball
Jacksonville State (15-10, 9-5) vs Murray State (9-15, 5-9)
Series: MSU leads, 17-6
Rick Pietri's women's club enters the CFSB Center in Murray, Ky., one win shy of the reaching the third-most wins in the program's Division I history. JSU improved to 15-10 overall last Saturday matching a season-best 13-point, second-half comeback to beat Tennessee State to move to 9-5 in the conference.
Jax State's league mark remains on par with the 2004 team that posted an 11-5 record in the Gamecocks' first year in the OVC.
The Gamecocks have exhibited an incredibly balanced offensive attack with senior
Tyler Phelion, junior
Rayven Pearson and freshman
Taylor Hawks each averaging between 8.3 and 8.7 points per contest. Hawks has upped her mark to 10.0 since entering league play, having reached double figures in four of the last five ballgames.
The Racers have historically controlled the series with a 17-6 advantage through 23 all-time meetings. However, the Gamecocks have won four of the last five meetings since the arrival of Pietri prior to the 2013-14 season. That includes a dominating 97-65 win over MSU earlier this season in Jacksonville.
Although JSU has the ability to strike big on offense, much of this season's success has been attributed to its defense, which allows a league-low 56.8 points per game. Rarely will opponents reach the 60-point mark. Due to that, JSU is 11-0 on the year when scoring 60, with an additional two more wins coming when the Gamecocks scored 59.
