RICHMOND, Ky. – The Jacksonville State men's basketball team leaned on a 20-point performance from senior Jacara Cross to earn an 80-71 win over Eastern Kentucky at Alumni Coliseum on Saturday.
 
Cross scored 14 points in the second half – six in the final five minutes off free throws – to help the Gamecocks (7-8, 2-0 OVC) sweep opening week of Ohio Valley Conference play for a fourth year in a row.
 
"Jacara had a great weekend," head coach Ray Harper said. "He is a physical presence. Just like on the last play, he shot fades and gets their kid in the air. He's playing smart right now and that's what we need out of him."
 
After leading by as much as 11 in the second half, JSU saw the Colonels (4-11, 1-1 OVC) cut into the lead and bring the score to 69-69 with under five minutes to play. EKU only shot 37 percent in the opening half, but stepped up its accuracy to 43 percent in the second on 16 baskets.
 
Eastern Kentucky guard Jomaru Brown scored 10 of his 18 points in the second half to help lead the offensive charge, but late-game fouls and solid free-throw shooting allowed the Gamecocks to climb back ahead.
 
Cross hit back-to-back free throws to break the 69-all tie and Derrick Cook added two more to push the lead to five. Three more Cross freebies and a Cook layup was all Jacksonville State needed to put the game out of reach. Elias Harden finished off the contest with a layup to secure a nine-point victory.
 
"We have good free-throw shooters, but we've struggled to hit them up until this point," Harper said. "For the second game in a row, we basically won the game at the free throw line. My hat is off to those kids because they've been in the gym getting shots up. It's paying dividends."
 
Kayne Henry turned in a dominating first-half performance, helping the Gamecocks to a 13-point lead at the intermission. The junior bucketed 12 points on 4-for-4 shooting with a couple from long range. He finished the night with 14.
 
Henry began the game with a dunk and followed up a Martin Roub 3-pointer with a trey of his own. Jacksonville State built up a 19-9 lead shortly following the first media timeout, but a 9-2 EKU run a few baskets later trimmed the JSU advantage to four, 30-26, with six minutes left in the period.
 
The Gamecocks answered with a run of their own, going on an 11-2 stretch to push their lead to a game-high 13 points in the final minutes of the half. JSU took a 44-31 lead to the locker room.
 
Cook, who was the team's third-leading scorer behind Henry, had 13 points, six assists and eight rebounds.
The win over the Colonels at McBrayer Arena was just the second inside the oldest basketball venue in the OVC for the Gamecocks. The first came Jan. 20, 2018 on a Harper-led 68-60 victory.
 
Next on the schedule is a Jan. 9 date with Murray State at Pete Mathews Coliseum. The matchup is set for 8 p.m. in Jacksonville and will broadcast on ESPNU.
 
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