JACKSONVILLE – The Jacksonville State men's basketball team hosts its home opener against Brescia University on Tuesday, Nov. 12 at 7:30 p.m. on ESPN+.
 
Tuesday's game will be available online through ESPN+ on WatchESPN. Visit espn.com/watch or download the ESPN app to view the game on a computer or mobile device.
 
Fans can also listen to "The Voice" of the Gamecocks, Mike Parris, on the Gamecock Radio Network and online. Parris is entering his 37th season on the mic for Jacksonville State basketball.
 
Tuesday's contest will mark the first between the Gamecocks and Bearcats. Brescia is an NAIA program from Owensboro, Ky. – the hometown of head coach Ray Harper.
 
The Gamecocks are coming off a 74-65 loss at SMU in their 2019-20 season opener. Both Jacara Cross and De'Torrion Ware each totaled 13 points in the game, while Cross paced JSU on the boards with eight.
 
Next on the schedule for Jacksonville State is the first campus-site game of the Emerald Coast Classic. The Gamecocks travel to Richmond, Va., to square off against VCU on Sunday, Nov. 17 at 11 a.m. 

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Men's Basketball - Game 2
Jacksonville State (0-1, 0-0 OVC) vs. Brescia (1-4, 0-0 River States Conference)
November 12, 2019 | 7:30 p.m. CT
Jacksonville, Ala. | Pete Mathews Coliseum (3,500)

SERIES HISTORY
Last Meeting: First meeting
All-Time Series Record: 0-0

FOLLOW LIVE
Listen: Gamecocks Radio Network - 91.9 WLJS & 97.9 WVOK
Watch: ESPN+
Live Stats: Click Here
 
GAME NOTES
Jacksonville State Notes
Brescia Notes

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Tipoff Tidbits

• Head coach Ray Harper enters tonight's game with a 498-164 career record. He is entering his 21st season as a college head coach and fourth with the Gamecocks. The mark includes his Division II and NAIA head coach records, while his Division I head coaching record stands at 156-101.
• JSU is coming off one of its best seasons in its Division I history. In 2018-19, the Gamecocks won a program-best 24 games, finished third in the Ohio Valley Conference (their highest regular-season finish in D-I), and eclipsed the 20-win mark for the third season in a row for the first time since its D-II era.
• Jacksonville State is predicted to finish third in the OVC by the league's coaches and sports information directors, while the conference's media members picked the Gamecocks to finish fourth in the preseason poll.
• The Gamecocks enter the 2019-20 campaign with just one returning starter, five returning letterwinners and eight newcomers. Among the four starters lost, single-season rebounding and scoring leader Jason Burnell is included. It's the most newcomers Harper has had on a roster since welcoming eight to Jacksonville in 2017 when the Gamecocks won their first OVC crown. 

A win would…

• Give Jacksonville State a 19-5 record in home openers since joining the Division I ranks in 1995-96.
• Make Ray Harper a 4-0 record in home openers with the Gamecocks.
• Give Ray Harper his 499th career head coaching win.

About Brescia

• Tuesday's meeting with the Bearcats is the first between the two programs.
• Brescia is looking to snap a four-game losing streak.
• The Bearcats haven't won a game since their season opener at Crowley's Ridge College.

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