MARTIN, Tenn. – Twenty-point performances from De'Torrion Ware and Kayne Henry helped the Jacksonville State men's basketball team to a 75-61 win over UT Martin at the Elam Center on Saturday.
 
Ware tallied a team-best 22 points on eight of 11 shooting with five treys, and Henry was 10-for-15 for 20 points with nine rebounds.
 
The Skyhawks (7-16, 3-9 OVC) claimed a 3-2 lead on a Parker Stewart 3-pointer in the opening minutes of the contest, but the Gamecocks (10-15, 5-7 OVC) reclaimed the advantage for good just 17 seconds later on a Henry jumpshot.
 
Jax State's defense shot down UTM shooters in the first half, allowing the Skyhawks to hit just eight of 29 shots in the opening frame. Twelve of Martin's 20 first-half points came on 3-pointers, while an aggressive JSU forced 10 turnovers.
 
UT Martin kept the lead within striking distance until the 13:08 mark when Jacksonville State jumped on a 10-0 run to go up 18-8. Ware accounted for six points and UTM coughed up the ball three times during the stretch.
 
Henry paced the Gamecocks with 12 points through the first half, hitting six of 10 shots, while grabbing six rebounds. The forward played all but 1:11 of the first 20 minutes.
 
Trailing 32-20 at the break, the Skyhawks tripled their point total with 41 second-half points, but it wasn't enough to overcome a Jacksonville State offense that kept pace with 43 points of its own.
 
After scoring nine points in the first, Ware went off for 13 points in the closing period to bring his total to 22. It was the sophomore's second 20-point game of the season and put him above the 400-point mark for his career.
 
Ware and Henry became the first Gamecock duo to score 20 points in a single game since Ware and Jason Burnell accomplished the feat Feb. 28, 2019 at Eastern Illinois.
 
Freshman Juwan Perdue got his first career start, logging 25 minutes from the forward position. He scored six points at the Elam Center, marking his career-high for points scored in a single game against a Division I opponent.
 
Freshman guard Marek Welsch also got his first starting nod since the season opener at SMU.
 
Jacksonville State continues its four-game road stint Thursday with a visit to Tennessee Tech. Tipoff in Cookeville, Tenn., is set for 6 p.m. The Gamecocks wrap up the visit to the Volunteer State on Saturday with a 5 p.m. contest in Nashville at Belmont.
 
Jax State is set to return home Feb. 20 to take on Southeast Missouri.
 
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