JACKSONVILLE – The Jacksonville State men's basketball team routed Tennessee Tech 74-50 at Pete Mathews Coliseum on Wednesday in its first home game of the season.
 
Off to a 2-0 start to league play for the fifth season in a row, JSU completed the season sweep of TTU in convincing fashion. Four Gamecocks ended the night with double digits in the scoring column, while the stout defense held Tech to 33.3 percent shooting (18-for-54).
 
Senior Kayne Henry posted a team-best 17 points in a hot first half that saw the forward go 6-for-7 from the floor with five 3-pointers in the opening period.
 
The Gamecocks (5-2, 2-0 OVC) ran away with the contest in the first 20 minutes, outscoring the Golden Eagles (0-7, 0-2 OVC) by 26 at halftime. Three nights ago in Cookeville, Tenn., Jax State led TTU by just six at the end of the first half.
 
"We're getting better," Head Coach Ray Harper said following the game. "We're growing, and I thought having a lot of time between the games at FIU and Tennessee Tech helped us go back, clean things up and get better on the defensive end. We made some adjustments from the first game to this game. I thought our guys responded really well."
 
Leading 16-8 after six minutes of play, the Gamecocks found another gear and jumped on a 16-2 run fueled by Henry's hot hand. The London, England native knocked down three-straight 3-pointers to held Jax State go ahead 32-10 before the under-eight media timeout.
 
Junior Amanze Ngumezi extended the advantage to a half-high 29 points with less than three minutes to play in the period following a Tennessee Tech turnover. Jax State led 46-20 at the horn.
 
The 20 TTU points in the first half were the least the Gamecocks have allowed an opponent to score in a single half since holding Cal State Fullerton to 14 second-half points on Nov. 25, 2016 in Las Vegas.
 
The Golden Eagles outscored Jacksonville State 30-28 in the second half, including a brief 7-0 run, but the solid offensive half from the visiting team wasn't going to be enough to threaten their deficit at The Pete.
 
After Henry got into foul trouble just five minutes into the closing period, Brandon Huffman and Ngumezi stepped in and tallied eight points each. Huffman was perfect in seven minutes of play, going 3-for-3 from the field and 2-for-2 from the free-throw line. Ngumezi hit three baskets, including a pair of 3-pointers from the top of the key.
 
For Tennessee Tech, Jr. Clay and Kenny White Jr., shared the scoring lead with five points each. Both Golden Eagle guards were 2-for-2 from the charity stripe with an additional 2-point basket.
 
The Gamecocks return to play Friday, Dec. 18 when they host Georgia Southwestern at 6 p.m. It is the final game before the holiday break, setting up a 12-day break before their next contest. Jax State is scheduled to meet UT Martin on Dec. 30 at 7:30 p.m. at Pete Mathews Coliseum.
 
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