COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Senior Jason Burnell collected his 12th double-double of the season while leading the Jacksonville State men's basketball team to a 67-57 win over Tennessee Tech Thursday night at Hooper Eblen Center.
 
Burnell led the Gamecocks (18-8, 10-3 OVC) in scoring and rebounding with 21 and 12, respectively. He shared his 21st double-digit scoring effort of the year with Marlon Hunter, who registered 20 on nine baskets.
 
It was Hunter's second 20-point game in a row, following a 27-point performance against Southeast Missouri last Saturday at Cape Girardeau's Show Me Center.
 
"I thought our guys were good," head coach Ray Harper said. "We had three good days of preparation and it showed."
 
After a 19-point, first-half performance at SEMO, Hunter tallied 12 points in the first period against the Golden Eagles (7-19, 3-10). His 12 points and Burnell's 11 accounted for all but 11 of the Gamecocks points in the first act.
 
Ty Hudson got JSU off to a hot start with back-to-back 3-pointers within the first two minutes, forcing Tennessee Tech to take a timeout to stop the bleeding. Hunter's second basket of the night extended the Gamecocks' lead to eight at the 17:20 mark.
 
A four-point run brought Tennessee Tech within four points of the JSU lead, 12-8, but that was as close as the home team would get to a lead before the break.
 
The Gamecocks took a 34-19 advantage to the half thanks to a stout defensive showing and domination on the boards. Along with holding TTU to 25-percent shooting, JSU out-rebounded the Eagles 34-19. That led to Jacksonville State holding a 12-6 advantage on second-chance points.
 
Tennessee Tech outscored the Gamecocks 38-33 in the second half to keep the final score's damage to 10, but Jacksonville State led by as much as 22 with 10 minutes to play. Two eight-point runs, including a 15-point half from point guard Junior Clay, whittled JSU's lead to single-digits with a minute left.
 
Clay paced the Eagles in scoring with 17 points; scoring just two in the first half.
 
"We kind of lost our heads there in the second half," Harper said. "We got out of character, but fortunately we made some plays and were able to stretch the lead back out."
 
Jacksonville State moved into a tie for third in the OVC standings with the victory, following an Austin Peay loss to Murray State. Belmont and the Racers sit atop the league tied, while the Govs and JSU are third.
 
The Gamecocks return home Saturday, Feb. 16 to host Tennessee State at The Pete. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. on ESPN+, following the conclusion of the women's game. Only three home game remain during the regular season for Jacksonville State. Morehead State and Eastern Kentucky come to Alabama the following week.
 
Season tickets and single-game tickets are now available for purchase online at JSUGamecocksTickets.com, by phone at (256) 782-8499and on campus at the JSU Ticket Office at Pete Mathews Coliseum. 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).