JACKSONVILLE – The Jacksonville State men's basketball team came up short Wednesday night at Pete Mathews Coliseum, falling 60-55 to Troy at Pete Mathews Coliseum.
 
A 10-0 run by the Trojans (4-6) and a seven-minute scoring drought from the Gamecocks (2-7) helped hand JSU its first home loss of the season.
 
"We didn't execute down the stretch," head coach Ray Harper said. "We had that one stretch where we must have had five turnovers in a row. You have to understand the times that you don't have to break and try to force it. Those were the plays that led to buckets for them.
 
"Now we have a really good team coming in here Monday in Evansville. We're going to be breaking down a lot of film, finding our mistakes and trying to fix them on the floor before then."
 
Jacksonville State held a two-point advantage entering the second half and led as late as the 6:26 mark. That disappeared quickly when Troy turned its five-point deficit into a five-point lead on its 10-point run.
 
It took a Kayne Henry free-throw at 2:22 to put JSU on the board for the first time since Derek St. Hilaire hit a jumper halfway through the period. Despite the Henry freebie, the Trojans never let their lead dip below three for the remainder of the game.
 
The Gamecocks took a 30-28 lead to the locker room, shortened only by a buzzer-beating 3-pointer from Troy's Darian Adams.
 
Both teams lived and died by the 3-pointer in the first half. Troy hit four on 16 attempts and Jacksonville State was 8-for-22. Elias Harden and De'Torrion Ware each tallied three from beyond the arc in the first 20 minutes.
 
Henry walked away scoring a team-high 14 points and game-best eight rebounds, while Ware (13) and Harden (12) each scored in double-figures.
 
Next on the schedule for Jacksonville State is a visit from Evansville on Dec. 16 at 7:30 p.m. The game will serve as JSU's annual "Christmas with the Gamecocks" promotion, sponsored by county commissioner Lee Patterson. Fifty lucky boys and girls will go home with a Christmas gift from the Gamecocks.
 
For more information on the JSU men's basketball team, follow the Gamecocks on Twitter (@JSUGamecocksMBB) and Instagram (@JSUGamecocksMBB). For more on all Gamecocks sports teams, follow the official social media accounts of JSU Athletics on Twitter (@JSUGamecocks), Facebook (Facebook.com/JSUGamecocks) and Instagram (@JSUGamecocks).