CHARLESTON, Ill. – Despite putting together a big second-half comeback, the Jacksonville State men's basketball team came up one layup short to Eastern Illinois on Thursday at Lantz Arena.
 
Trailing by as much as 15 with 10 minutes to play, a 9-0 run helped get the Gamecocks (7-11, 2-3 OVC) back within striking distance of the Panthers (8-9, 1-4 OVC) with less than one minute to play.
 
Back-to-back layups from junior Elias Harden made it a one-point game, 70-69, with eight seconds remaining. Jacksonville State fouled with six seconds left to send EIU's Jordan Skipper-Brown to the line. The forward missed his first shot and Kayne Henry grabbed the rebound.
 
Henry, after sprinting the ball past midcourt to the 3-point line, fed De'Torrion Ware who put up a running one-handed layup with a little over one second on the clock, but the shot hit the glass, rattled off the rim and fell to the floor as time expired.
 
"I think the way the game ended was only fitting," head coach Ray Harper said. "We probably had eight missed layups like that during the course of the game. You can't do that and win."
 
Henry had a career night at Lantz Arena despite the loss, totaling 16 points with 14 rebounds for his first double-double. He was 7-for-11 from the field with a 3-pointer and a successful free throw, while on the glass he snagged 11 defensive boards and three offensive.
 
"Kayne played well in the second half," Harper said. "He was aggressive. He was one we talked to a little bit at the half about finishing around the rim and stop trying to finesse things. He went strong and played extremely hard for us the rest of the game."
 
Two other Gamecocks finished in double-figures with senior Jacara Cross leading the charge with eight points. The forward was 8-for-10 and a perfect 2-for-2 from the free-throw line, and Harden rounded out double-digit scoring with 11 points. Five of his points came courtesy of a 5-for-5 night from the charity stripe.
 
On the other end of the floor, Eastern Illinois was led by a 20-point night from guard Josiah Wallace. He helped the Panthers to a 50 percent night from the floor, hitting seven of 13 shots with a perfect 5-for-5 mark from the free-throw line.
 
Despite a slow start to the game, the Gamecocks and Panthers combined to score 57 at the half, but both had just one field goal through the first three minutes of play. At the 16:14 mark, just prior to the first media timeout of the game, the two teams combined for 1-for-9 shooting with three turnovers.
 
Eastern Illinois took a seven-point lead to the locker room, 32-25, at the intermission. Panther guards Mack Smith and Josiah Wallace each tallied a half-best nine points on three baskets, while Derek St. Hilaire carried the JSU offense with six first-half points. JSU's Harden followed up with five – all from the free-throw line on 5-for-5 shooting.
 
The Gamecocks' road trip to Illinois continues Saturday with a visit to SIUE. Tipoff in Edwardsville is set for 3:30 p.m. on ESPN+.
 
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