RICHMOND, Ky. – Jacksonville State picked up its first road win of the season over Eastern Kentucky on Saturday to split the opening weekend of Ohio Valley Conference play.
 
After starting slow, JSU (5-8, 1-1 OVC) shut down the Colonels (6-7, 0-2 OVC) in a low-scoring affair to win 43-33 for the Gamecocks' ninth win in the last 11 meetings with EKU.
 
The defensive struggled between the two teams would tie the fewest total points in a game in program history at just 76, matching a four-year old mark that came against Belmont on Jan. 16, 2016.
 
Junior Kiana Johnson led the Gamecocks with 13 points, 10 of which came in the second half as JSU locked down its lead. Fellow junior Taylor Hawks followed Johnson with 10 points, while redshirt-senior Chloe Long pulled down a season-high 12 rebounds to come within two of her career mark. Also stepping up big was redshirt-freshman Karleigh Sledge who finished with five boards, four points and two steals in by far her most career playing time in 18 minutes off the bench.
 
It didn't look good early for JSU, shooting 2-for-15 from the field and 0-of-9 from beyond the arc in the opening quarter. The Gamecocks totaled just four first-quarter points and trailed by eight entering the second.
 
McKenna Lawrence provided a key spark off the bench with consecutive three-pointers early in the second to cut the deficit to two and force an EKU timeout. JSU stayed closed, but couldn't grab the lead until down by two in the closing seconds when Hawks put up a three that banged around the rim as the halftime horn sounded before falling through to send Jax State to the intermission up 19-18.
 
The six points allowed in the second were the fewest of the season for JSU's defense, but it wouldn't be long until the Gamecocks matched that mark again in the fourth. The Colonels failed to reach double-digit points in any of the final three quarters and tallied 18 turnovers against the Gamecock pressure.
 
Johnson drew a foul to begin the third for an old-fashion three-point play to cap an 8-0 run going back to the first half. After Long had a couple of buckets in the paint, JSU had its largest lead for the time at 26-20.
 
EKU climbed within three at the 5:48 mark of the final period, but would be denied offensively for the next five minutes as JSU slowly increased it lead to double digits. A pair of free throws by Sledge started a 9-0 span for JSU that iced the game down the stretch. JSU led 43-31 until the Colonels finally scored again in the closing seconds, but the outcome had already been decided.
 
Jax State returns home next weekend to continue league play against Murray State and Austin Peay at Pete Mathews Coliseum.