NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Jacksonville State men's basketball team claimed its fourth consecutive win over Belmont with an 83-73 win Thursday night in the Music City, winning at Curb Event Center for the second season in a row.
 
The Gamecocks became the first Ohio Valley team to win multiple conference games at The Curb, handing the Bruins just their third OVC loss at their home venue since Belmont joined the league in 2012. BU is now 47-3 at home against OVC opponents. The last team to defeat Belmont in four straight meetings was Austin Peay from 2004 to 2008.

The 10-point victory marks the fourth Ohio Valley Conference opener the Gamecocks have won and snaps a nine-game winning streak in league openers for Belmont.

"This is a good win for us," head coach Ray Harper said. "But it means we're 1-0. We have to get another one on Saturday. We can celebrate this one, but we have to realize we are on a business trip. This trip doesn't end until Saturday at Tennessee State."
 
Senior Jason Burnell came up just two assists short of a triple-double, totaling 19 points, 12 rebounds and eight helpers, and fellow senior Detrick Mostella had his best game of the season after missing six games with an injury. Mostella tied Burnell with 19 points – his highest total of the season – and pitched in three 3-pointers.
 
Jacksonville State jumped out to a quick 16-10 advantage through the first five minutes with the help of 4-for-5 shooting from the 3-point line. Point guard Ty Hudson knocked down two triples and hit a jumper for half of the opening points.
 
The long-range game fell cold soon after for the Gamecocks, however, as they missed their next nine shots from beyond the line. It wasn't until Mostella hit a big basket with 1:10 left in the half that JSU had its fifth 3-pointer, pushing the Jacksonville State lead to eight.
 
The half came to a close with Jamall Gregory bouncing an open layup off the back of the rim, but Mostella rushed in and tipped the ball in to give Jacksonville State a 40-32 advantage at the break.
 
The second half didn't start favorably for the Gamecocks with Belmont outscoring JSU 19-13 through the period's first 11 minutes. A Dylan Windler 3-pointer at 11:24 that pulled the Jacksonville State lead down to two, 53-51, warranted a Harper timeout to stop the momentum.
 
After the timeout with less than 12 minutes to play, the Gamecocks answered with back-to-back baskets from Burnell and Derek St Hilaire to shift the momentum to the visitor's bench.
 
Belmont traded baskets with the Gamecocks nearly shot-for-shot until the two-minute mark when Mostella's final 3-pointer and six straight free throws, divided between Mostella and Maurice Dunlap, totaled a nine-point run.
 
The Bruins put up eight points in the final two minutes, but it wasn't enough to catch the Gamecocks. Two points each from Mostella, Hudson and Marlon Hunter kept a 10-point buffer until the clock expired.
 
The Jacksonville State defense held Rick Byrd's Bruins at .441 percent shooting, 26-of-59 shooting, which falls 35 points shy of their season average. Even more impressive, the Bruins hit just eight of 27 3-point attempts for a .304 average – 59 points below their average through 11 games.
 
Including Mostella and Burnell, four Gamecocks ended the night in double-figures. Hudson totaled 15 points and Hunter finished with 11. Senior Christian Cunningham swatted three shots.
 
Jacksonville State wraps up the conference-opening road trip Saturday with a 5 p.m. matchup on ESPN+ against Tennessee State. The Gamecocks return home Thursday, Jan. 10 to host Eastern Illinois at 7:15 p.m. JSU then hosts SIUE Saturday, Jan. 12 at 4 p.m. at Pete Mathews Coliseum.
 
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).