JACKSONVILLE – The Jacksonville State men's basketball team claimed its third consecutive victory over Belmont University on Thursday, downing the Bruins 78-67 on ESPNU at Pete Mathews Coliseum.
 
The win forces a scenario in which the Gamecocks can enter the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament in Evansville, Ind., as the No. 4 seed with a first-round bye, but help will be needed to achieve the higher seeding. Belmont must defeat Tennessee State in its game Saturday night at the Curb Event Center, while Jacksonville State must win on the road Saturday against Tennessee Tech.
 
"It all comes down to Saturday night," head coach Ray Harper said. "We have one day to prepare for Tennessee Tech for a chance to finish fourth in the league. A loss would more than likely put us in sixth and having to play an extra game."
 
Senior Malcolm Drumwright bucketed 11 points to surpass former Gamecock Darion Rackley (2011-15) for second all-time among Jacksonville State's Division I scoring leaders with 1,348 career points. His final basket, a 3-pointer with 48 seconds remaining in the game, served as the dagger that put the game out of Belmont's reach.
 
"Malcolm didn't score in the first because he didn't force shots, but he came back strong in the second half," Harper said. "He shared the ball really well, too. He had nine assists, only one turnover and gave a great effort. We had great effort from all of our guys, and it's good to get a win here tonight."
 
Drumwright's nine assists led the Gamecocks in the category as the team totaled 25 helpers. It's the highest assists total since collecting 25 against Savannah State on Nov. 20 in Chattanooga, Tenn.
 
Jacksonville State went to the half break leading by a narrow two-point margin, 37-35. Junior Marlon Hunter, who went on to lead the Gamecocks in scoring with 21 points, put up eight first-half points. Junior Jamall Gregory led the JSU scoring effort in the first with 10 points off the bench, helping Jax State to out-work the Bruins 22-2 in bench points for the period.
 
Belmont tied the game after three minutes of play in the second and built a three-point lead by the 12:55 mark, but a timely 30-second timeout from Coach Harper halted the Bruins' momentum and swayed it in the Gamecocks' favor. Following the timeout, Jacksonville State went on an 8-0 run to take a five-point, 52-57, lead halfway through the period.
 
Jacksonville State stretched its lead to double digits and did not allow the Bruins within less than five points until the 1:24 mark. Belmont's Dylan Windler hit a couple of free throws to pull the JSU advantage down to 69-65, but it was as close as the Bruins got to seeing another lead change. With 48 seconds remaining in the contest, Drumwright drained a 3-pointer to push the Jax State lead to eight, 75-67, all but securing the Gamecocks' third win in five games in the past two seasons against the rivals from Nashville.
The Gamecocks must now travel to Tennessee Tech to take on the Golden Eagles in a pivotal OVC matchup to bring the regular season to a close. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m. in Cookeville, Tenn., on the OVC Digital Network.
 
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