Jacksonville State Game Notes | Canisius Game Notes

BUFFALO, N.Y. – The Jacksonville State men's basketball team makes its debut in the College Basketball Invitational on Wednesday, taking on Canisius on the road at 6 p.m. on ESPN3.

The Gamecocks (21-12, 11-7) and Golden Griffins (21-11, 15-3 MAAC) are set to meet for the first time in program history in the first round of the 16-team tournament. The winner of the Wednesday matchup will move on to the quarterfinals to take on the winner of Central Arkansas vs. Seattle on March 19. Men's Basketball - Game 34 – College Basketball Invitational
Jacksonville State (21-12, 11-7) at Canisius (21-11, 15-3 MAAC)
March 14, 2018 | 6 p.m.
Buffalo, N.Y. | Koessler Athletic Center

SERIES HISTORY
Last Meeting: First Meeting
All-Time Series Record: First Meeting

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Live Stats: Click Here For just the second time in JSU's Division I history, the Gamecocks are set to compete in a national postseason tournament. Head coach Ray Harper, in his first season at the helm last year, led Jacksonville State to its first OVC Tournament berth since 2012 and to its first appearance in the NCAA Tournament.
 
Jacksonville State ended its regular season with 20 wins and went 1-1 in the OVC Championships with a 73-70 win over Tennessee Tech in the quarterfinals before falling to eventual-champion Murray State 70-63 in the semifinals.

Wednesday's trip to Buffalo, N.Y., will be the Gamecocks' second of the season. JSU first visited the Nickel City on Nov. 15 for a matchup with Buffalo University for the third game of the regular season. This will be the first ever meeting between Jacksonville State and Canisius.
 
Senior Malcolm Drumwright looks to build upon his three school records by just stepping onto the court at Koessler Athletic Center. The four-year letter winner ranks first all-time at Jacksonville State for career games played (122), starts (101) and minutes played (3,706). The Gamecocks' iron man has started 68 consecutive games, dating back to last season's opener at Tulsa on Nov. 11, 2016.
 
Junior Christian Cunningham is also on the record-watch radar going into Wednesday's matchup against the Golden Griffs. The 6-foot-7 forward, and the OVC's active rejections leader, sits just two blocks behind JSU's all-time blocking leader Amadou Mbodji (2006-10) with 160 swats.
 
Canisius reached the quarterfinals of the MAAC Championships quarterfinals as the No. 2 seed. The Golden Griffins were 0-2 against common JSU opponents this season, dropping an 80-75 contest at Buffalo and a 60-52 loss to Tennessee State in Nashville.
 
The Griffins have had four make starts in all 32 games this season, led by MAAC co-player of the year Jermaine Crumpton. The senior forward is averaging 17.1 points per game along with 5.4 rebounds per contest. He is the program's active leader in career games played and ranks eighth in school history with 1,571 career points.
 
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