JACKSONVILLE – The Jacksonville State men's and women's basketball teams host Ohio Valley Conference preseason-favorites Belmont on Saturday in a conference doubleheader at Pete Mathews Coliseum.
Tipoff of the women's game is set for 5:15 p.m., while the men's game is slated to get underway at 7:15 p.m. Both games will broadcast on ESPN+.
JSU Housing is helping to #PackThePete Thursday, beginning with the first 100 JSU housing residents receiving a free drawstring backpack. Housing will also be giving away free items throughout the game and halftime competitions will take place during both games.
In addition, cornhole champions Dustin Travis and Branson Oliver will be in the lobby to meet fans. The two JSU students brought home the American Cornhole League National College Doubles title for the Gamecocks on Dec. 30, 2018 on ESPN2.
The Belmont women (10-5, 3-1 OVC) handed JSU it first conference loss of the season earlier this year, 66-52, in Nashville, but have since seen their 48-game conference win streak snapped to Tennessee Tech. It marks the second meeting between the two schools in just 14 days, and the fifth in the last 12 months as the two are becoming regular postseason opponents.
While JSU and BU tend to clash often, the Gamecocks are still looking to snap an 11-game skid to the Bruins dating back to its last win at home on March 1, 2014 (71-69) in overtime. The Bruins enter with two of the top three scorers in the Ohio Valley Conference with Ellie Harmeyer and Darby Maggard, but will be taking on the league's top scoring defense as the Gamecocks sit tied with Maryland for the 34th-best defense in the nation.
Jax State is looking to bounce back from a 51-47 setback to Southern Illinois-Edwardsville on Saturday. Seniors
Destiney Elliott and
Rayven Pearson lead the JSU offensive attack averaging double figures for the season. Pearson is also just under averaging a double-double with 9.1 boards per contest.
Women's Basketball - Game 16
Jacksonville State (8-7, 2-2 OVC) vs. Belmont (10-5, 3-1 OVC)
January 17, 2018 | 5:15 p.m.
Jacksonville, Ala. | Pete Mathews Coliseum (3,500)
Game Notes:
Jacksonville State |
Belmont
SERIES HISTORY
Last Meeting: Jan. 3, 2018 @ Belmont (L, 52-66)
All-Time Series Record: Belmont leads series 19-3
FOLLOW LIVE
Listen:
Gamecocks Radio Network - 91.9 WLJS & 97.9 WVOK
Watch:
ESPN+
Live Stats:
Click Here
The Jacksonville State men's basketball team puts a historic run on the line Thursday with its second meeting of the season with OVC preseason-favorite Belmont.
The Gamecocks have won 12 of their last 14 games, posting the best 14-game clip in JSU's Division I history, are on a five-game winning streak and are 4-0 to begin OVC play for the first time ever.
The five-game winning streak is tied for the longest under head coach
Ray Harper, with the first coming earlier this season, and is the longest prior was six in a row during the 2008-09 season. Included in the streak is JSU's 4-0 start to conference play. It's the best start to a Division I conference campaign since Mark Turgeon led the Gamecocks to a 6-0 start in the A-SUN in 1999-00.
During Jacksonville State's 14-game stretch,
Jason Burnell has been nearly unstoppable and caused a lot of problems for Belmont earlier this season. The forward has averaged a team-best 15.1 points per game with 50 assists and 121 rebounds since JSU's Nov. 20 win over Western Carolina. During the Gamecocks' first five-game winning streak, the senior forward totaled a team-leading 82 points, along with six steals and six blocks. During the most-recent five-game winning streak, he has a team-high 79 points, 44 rebounds and 21 assists. He scored a career-best 23 points in the second game of the 14-game clip Nov. 21 vs. North Florida, and fell just two assists shy of a triple-double Jan. 3 at Belmont with 19 points, 12 boards and eight helpers. He has scored double-digits in 14 of 17 games this season.
Junior forward
Jacara Cross is another player to watch Thursday as he has been clutch in the starting five in place of senior
Christian Cunningham, who has missed significant playing time in the last three games due to a back injury. He has started the past two games and was phenomenal during the Gamecocks' 90-54 win over SIUE last Saturday. He totaled a career-high 15 points and hit seven field goals on seven attempts in 15 minutes of play.
Belmont enters the game having lost its last four matchups with the Gamecocks. Despite a 10-point loss to Jacksonville State in their last meeting, guards Dylan Windler and Kevin McClain combined to score 24 of the Bruins' 73 points at Curb Event Center on Jan. 3 in Nashville. Windler is averaging 18.7 points per game, has a team-best 135 rebounds and leads Belmont with a .378 shooting percentage from 3-point range. Meanwhile, McClain has a second-most 213 points scored with 59 assists and 22 steals.
Men's Basketball - Game 18
Jacksonville State (12-5, 4-0 OVC) vs. Belmont (12-3, 3-1 OVC)
January 17, 2018 | 7:15 p.m.
Jacksonville, Ala. | Pete Mathews Coliseum (3,500)
Game Notes:
Jacksonville State |
Belmont
SERIES HISTORY
Last Meeting: Jan. 3, 2018 @ Belmont (W, 83-73)
All-Time Series Record: Belmont leads series 11-8
FOLLOW LIVE
Listen:
Gamecocks Radio Network - 91.9 WLJS & 97.9 WVOK
Watch:
ESPN+
Live Stats:
Click Here
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 Pete Mathews Coliseum. 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).
