JACKSONVILLE – The Jacksonville State men's basketball team topped Montevallo 73-68 in the Gamecocks' final preseason tune-up of the year Tuesday night at Pete Mathews Coliseum.
 
Senior Jacara Cross was one of five Gamecocks to score in double-figures, leading the offensive charge with 13 points. The fourth-year forward was 6-for-8 from the floor, paced the team with nine rebounds and swatted one would-be basket.
 
"Montevallo is a good team that plays fundamentally-sound basketball," head coach Ray Harper said. "This game showed us we still have some things to work on. We have to execute better. You can't win or beat good teams with some of the things we did, but it's October 29. Not February 29."
 
Turnovers plagued the Gamecocks in the first half. JSU committed 12 turnovers to Montevallo's four, leading to an eight-point deficit at the 6:41 mark.
 
Despite falling behind 28-20 midway through the first half, Jacksonville State used a 15-4 run to close out the opening period. Sophomore forward Maros Zeliznak led the JSU offense with seven points in the stanza, going 2-for-2 from the field with three free throws. Newcomer Elias Harden and freshman guard Marek Welsch each pitched in six points in their first minute of action as Gamecocks.
 
Montevallo led JSU 37-35 at the break, headed up by a half-best eight points from guard Ivan Smith. The Falcons' starter at the point was 4-of-7 from the floor and added a steal and assist to his stats prior to the horn.
 
Trailing by two at the start of the second, Jacksonville State used a 10-6 run to its first lead of the closing period. During the first five minutes, Cross scored four points and pitched in a steal. The 6-foot-8 senior went on to get 12 of his 13 total points in the last half.
 
JSU found itself down by one, 68-67, with 2:35 to play, but a fast break basket by freshman Marek Welsch put Jacksonville State ahead one final time. The point guard then sunk consecutive foul shots to pad the lead by three.
 
Two free throws by Derek St. Hilaire sealed the win.
 
The Gamecocks begin their season Tuesday, Nov. 2 on the road at SMU. JSU and the Mustangs tip at 7 p.m. in Dallas, and the game will broadcast live on ESPN3.
 
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