JACKSONVILLE – The Jacksonville State men's basketball team wrapped up its home slate in dramatic fashion Saturday night at The Pete, outlasting Eastern Kentucky 104-101 in double-overtime.
 
"You guys showed maturity and guts tonight," head coach Ray Harper told the team in the locker room postgame. "You stuck together and that's why you won the game."
 
Tied at 82 at the end of regulation and knotted at 92 at the end of the first overtime, Jacksonville State (21-8, 13-3 OVC) battled for 50 minutes and overcame a three-point deficit to claim the victory in the game's final minute.
 
A Colonels' 3-pointer put the Gamecocks down 99-96 with 1:32 left in the third OT, but a deuce-and-damage layup from Marlon Hunter tied the game just 15 seconds later. With Pete Mathews Coliseum rocking, Ty Hudson fought for a layup to give Jacksonville State the lead.
 
EKU (12-17, 5-11 OVC) called its final timeout after the Hudson basket, but was unable to get the ball inbounds in five seconds, turning the ball over with 26 seconds remaining. Detrick Mostella added an insurance points on a free throw, pushing the lead to 102-99, and a missed 3-pointer from the Colonels' Nick Mayo gave the ball back to the Gamecocks. Hudson then hit two free throws in a row to put the game out of reach. A last-ditch layup from EKU cut it to three points, but with no timeouts left to call the Colonels had to watch the clock run down to zero.
 
Senior Christian Cunningham tallied a double-double in his final game at The Pete, scoring 17 with 14 rebounds, while Jason Burnell registered his seventh 20-point game of the season.
 
Hudson finished with a team-leading and career-high 21 points, surpassing his previous high of 18.
 
Eastern Kentucky jumped out to a six-point lead in the game's first two minutes, but the JSU offense erased the deficit before the first media timeout on a 13-0 run. By the midway point of the first period, the Gamecocks led 28-20 with their largest lead of the game.
 
Jamall Gregory and Cunningham got the crowd into the game with a couple of big dunks. First, Gregory fed Cunningham on an alley-oop to make it 21-18, and then a steal and fast-break slam from Gregory made it 28-20 in favor of the Gamecocks.
 
Eastern Kentucky cut back into the JSU lead in the final three minutes of the period, coming within one point of tying the contest, but the Gamecocks were able to manage a 45-41 buffer at the break.
 
"We shot the ball too quick in the first half," Harper said. "We had three or four possessions where the most passes we made before we shot it was one. And that's EKU's style. That's how they want you to play, and we can't do it. We have to get the ball inside and play inside-out, and I thought we were better when we did that."
 
Gregory hit back-to-back baskets in the final 30 seconds of regulation to send the game to overtime. He hit an open-lane layup to pull JSU within two points of the Colonels, 82-80, and a big dunk with 11 seconds to go tied the game.
 
"Jamall was terrific and good for us late. When we were down two, he dunked it to tie it up. He told me, 'Coach, get the ball in my hands. I think I can get you one,' as we started to go to the timeout. I've usually turned to them when I have guys asking for the ball in those situations. I turned to him and he produced."
 
A near-3-pointer by Mostella almost ended the game at the end of regulation, and a Hudson jumper at the end of the first overtime came close to falling, but both barely missed.
 
"I thought Ty's shot was going in," Harper said. "And if Mostella could've gotten a hold on the ball, I think his shot would've gone in. We would've been home earlier than we're going to be, but we were fortunate. I told our kids that we played two games this week we were fortunate to win. We somehow gutted it out and found a way."
 
Saturday's double-overtime game was the first for Jacksonville State since Nov. 22, 2008 when JSU defeated Georgia State 80-73. It was also the first double-OT win since that same contest 20 seasons ago, spanning 332 games.
 
It was also the first time a Jacksonville State squad scored triple digits against a Division I opponent, dating back to a 101-82, OT win against Stetson in 2002. It was the first time an opponent scored triple digits against the Gamecocks since allowing 103 to Belmont in a 21-point loss in 2015.
 
The win is the 13th in OVC play for the Gamecocks this season, setting a new Division I program record for league wins in a single season. The previous best was 12.
 
Jacksonville State's schedule takes the Gamecocks to the Land of Lincoln next weekend to finish out the regular season. JSU tangles with Eastern Illinois on ESPNews Thursday, Feb. 28 at 8 p.m., and meets SIUE on ESPN+ at 5 p.m. on Saturday, March 2.
 
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