JACKSONVILLE – Junior Amanze Ngumezi led the Jacksonville State men's basketball team to an 80-70 win Wednesday night over UT Martin at Pete Mathews Coliseum.
 
The forward scored a career-high 20 points and was just two rebounds shy of the team's first double-double, helping the Gamecocks (7-2, 3-0 OVC) overcome a second-half Skyhawk (3-3, 1-1 OVC) rally.
 
Jax State led 45-23 at halftime, but UTM enjoyed a 47-point second half to cut the game's final to a 10-point deficit.
 
"We were the aggressor in the first half, but they were the aggressor in the second half," Head Coach Ray Harper said. "Usually, good things happen for the most aggressive team. I think we relaxed and didn't execute well to begin with, but give our kids credit. We gutted it out and still won by double figures."
 
Jacksonville State's biggest lead of the game came with just 3:14 to play before the half. The Gamecocks scored 10-straight points midway through the period, highlighted by one of three big dunks from Ngumezi. The Savannah, Ga., native totaled seven points and six boards at the half, while fellow transfer Darian Adams led the home team with 12 points at halftime.
 
With Ngumezi and Adams combining to go 6-for-9 from the floor in the opening stanza, the Gamecocks shot 53.3 percent (16-for-30), while the defense held the Skyhawks' shooters to just 28.1 percent (9-for-32) in the first 20 minutes of action.
 
Despite its biggest run coming on six consecutive, UT Martin rallied back in the second half to cut its deficit to nine points with one minute to play. That was the narrowest gap the game had seen since the 10:09 mark of the first period when the Gamecocks lead stood at just eight.
 
UTM junior Cameron Holden was the catalyst for the Skyhawks, going 6-for-12 from the field with seven made free throws for 19 points in the final 17 minutes of the game to bring his night's total to 23.
 
Freshman Anthony Thomas scored all 15 of his points in the closing half to aid Holden's efforts in the late-game push, but a scoring drought of more than four minutes at the final media timeout all but ended the Skyhawks' chances of a comeback win in Jacksonville. The Gamecock defense held UTM to 0-for-6 shooting during the stretch, and another thunderous dunk from Ngumezi slammed the door shut.
 
"Amanze is capable of this and more every night," Harper said. "He's had a really good week of practice, so I was really happy for him. I thought he played really well."
 
The Gamecocks go on the road for their next game, traveling to Edwardsville, Ill., Saturday to take on SUIE at First Community Arena. Tipoff with the Cougars is set for 5 p.m.
 
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