JACKSONVILLE – The Jacksonville State men's basketball team played its most-complete game of the season Monday night, claiming an 85-59 win over Evansville at Pete Mathews Coliseum.
 
Senior Jacara Cross scored 16 points, coming up just three points shy of his season-high, while sophomore De'Torrion Ware was a point short of a double-double with nine points and 11 rebounds.
 
"Leading into this game, I thought we had our best preparation," head coach Ray Harper said following the game. "We're still trying to figure some stuff out here and there. We started four guys tonight who weren't here last year, and they're still trying to figure out what we want from them every time out, but I thought we had some good hustle plays and executed."
 
Jacksonville State (3-7) had its highest-scoring half in the first, outscoring Evansville (8-4) 47-23 in the period. The Gamecocks went on a 9-0 run over two minutes near the end of the period – a run that featured a couple of 3-pointers from Derek St. Hilaire.
 
Ware put on exclamation point on the end of the longest run of the night with a steal and fast-break layup. Kayne Henry added a one-handed tomahawk dunk at the end of the stretch.
 
JSU was 20-for-36 from the field in the opening period, including seven 3-balls, while the Gamecock defense held the Purple Aces to just 32 percent shooting in the half. The Aces committed six turnovers in the first 20 minutes.
 
Evansville threatened early in the second, outscoring JSU 10-4 through the first five minutes, but the Gamecocks found their mojo from the first half and pulled even 16-16 moments later to pull their lead back to 24.
 
Derrick Cook and Ware each tallied seven points, while Cross continued his dominance with a half-best eight points. The senior was 4-for-5 from the field in the period with two rebounds and two assists.
 
The Purple Aces were led by starting guard Sam Cunliffe, who bucketed 11 points on 4-of-13 shooting. He hit a 3-pointer and was 2-for-2 from the charity stripe.
 
Gamecock freshman Marek Welsch scored a career-high nine points on 3-of-3 shooting from beyond the arc, while junior transfer Justin Murphy made his Division I debut by checking in for the final three minutes of the game.
 
The JSU bench accounted for 48 points.
 
Next on the schedule for Jacksonville State is a visit from Carver College on Dec. 18 at 7:30 p.m.
 
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).