CHARLESTON, Ill. – The Jacksonville State men's basketball team gutted out a second-straight double overtime win Thursday night, topping Eastern Illinois 89-84 in 50 minutes of nail-biting action at EIU's Lantz Arena.
 
Freshman De'Torrion Ware put on a tremendous second-half and overtime performance off the bench to give the Gamecocks (22-8, 14-3 OVC) a much-needed spark. The Hopkinsville, Ky., native scored 12 in the second half and five in the two overtime periods en route to tying his single-game best of 20 points.
 
"We were down 11 or 12 points, but De'Torrion turned the game around," head coach Ray Harper said. "He came in and banged a couple of 3-pointers for us when we needed them. He plays behind a lot of seniors, and we know how good he is going to be."
 
A 3-pointer and four made free throws within the final five minutes of regulation from Ware brought the game down to one possession, and senior Jason Burnell tied the game 66-66 to send it to overtime.
 
Eastern Illinois (14-16, 7-10 OVC) found itself up again with eight seconds remaining in the first overtime period, but junior point guard Ty Hudson was able to maneuver his way to a layup with three seconds left to tie the game 75-75, sending the Gamecocks to their second double-OT situation in as many games.
 
JSU pulled away in the last moments of the second overtime period to claim the five-point victory. With EIU ahead by two with 2:57 left, Jacksonville State outscored the Panthers 11-4 through the remainder of the game.
 
All 11 points came on free throws. Detrick Mostella was 5-for-6 during the run, while Burnell was 4-for-4.
 
Burnell finished with a game-best 26 points and 14 rebounds for his team-leading 14th double-double of the year. His 14 boards pushed his single-season total to 276, making him Jacksonville State's new single-season rebounding leader. The senior surpassed fellow senior Christian Cunningham for the record, set in 2016-17 with 275 rebounds.
 
Eastern Illinois got off to a hot start through the first four minutes of the game, going ahead 11-2 on 4-of-5 shooting, including three 3-pointers. Following a jump ball to stop the clock, Harper subbed out four of five starters, leaving just Burnell on the court.
 
With Derek St. Hilaire, Jacara Cross, Maurice Dunlap and Mostella on the floor, the next four minutes looked much different. The Gamecocks outscored the Panthers 12-5 over the stretch, and the defense kept the home team to 2-for-5 shooting.
 
Following a Josiah Wallace jumper to give EIU a two-point lead, and break a 27-27 tie with 13 seconds left in the first half, Jacksonville State answered right back to take a one-point advantage to the locker room. St. Hilaire dished to Ware in the far corner, who banged a 3-pointer to put JSU up 30-29 at the end of the first 20 minutes.
 
Eastern Illinois had two score in the 20s; Mack Smith totaling 24, while Wallace finished with 23. Smith hit nine of his 15 shot attempts, including four 3-pointers.
 
With Jacksonville State's win accompanying an Austin Peay loss to Eastern Kentucky, the Gamecocks moved into sole-possession of third place in the Ohio Valley Conference going into the final game of the regular season.
 
Jacksonville State wraps up OVC play Saturday with a trip to Edwardsville, Ill. The Gamecocks take on SIUE at 5 p.m. at the Vadalabene Center on ESPN+, bringing an end to its six-day road trip to Illinois. The OVC Championships begin next week in Evansville, Ind.
 
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