MURRAY, Ky. – The Jacksonville State men's basketball team outlasted Murray State 85-82 Thursday at the CFSB Center, claiming the program's first road win against the Racers.
 
The Gamecocks (9-5, 5-3 OVC) were 0-11 in Murray, Ky., coming into the game, but a double-double from Jalen Finch and four made free throws in the final seconds helped Jax State survive a late-game surge from the Racers (5-7, 2-5 OVC).
 
Leading by 10 with less than three minutes to go, the Murray State defense transitioned to a half court press. The extra pressure forced a pair of turnovers and the Racers quickly put up eight-straight points in a 44-second span to cut the Gamecock lead to two, 81-79. Five points during the stretch came courtesy of Chico Carter, who hit a jumper followed by a 3-pointer.
 
The Gamecocks gathered themselves in the final minute, though, and hit all four of their free throws down the stretch to keep ahead in the race. Amanze Ngumezi hit a pair of freebies and Darian Adams knocked down his two chances with just 11 seconds remaining in the game. MSU's Tevin Brown threw up a last-second 3-point attempt, but the shot hit the glass and ricocheted away.
 
"We didn't do a good job late in the game of taking care of the basketball," Head Coach Ray Harper said. "We weren't meeting passes and didn't use pass fakes. If we take care of the ball in the last minute and half, that's probably a 12- or 14-point game, but we didn't. But give our guys credit. We had a lot of second- and third-effort plays tonight and we made free throws down the stretch."
 
Finch earned the first double-double of his career in unusual fashion, scoring 15 points with 10 rebounds from the point. The junior was 5-for-11 with a 3-pointer and was a perfect 4-for-4 from the line. He was assisted by double-digit scoring efforts from Ngumezi, Adams, Brandon Huffman and Demaree King.
 
Ngumezi led the Gamecocks in scoring with 17 points, and Adams was a spectacular 6-for-6 from the charity stripe and totaled 10 points. Huffman finished with 16 points and eight boards, and King rounded out the top scorers with 13 points on 3-for-3 shooting from beyond the arc.
 
"Jalen Finch was good for us tonight," Harper said. "We put the ball in his hands a lot just to make decisions and make plays. I thought Demaree King made some big shots for us, and I thought Darian Adams was good for us on both ends. He just let the game come to him."
 
Jax State erased an 11-point deficit in the first half to go to the locker room with a 38-36 lead. The Gamecock defense held the Racers scoreless for nearly five minutes while Ngumezi led the offense on a 10-0 run to cut the Murray State lead to one point. Ngumezi gave JSU its first lead of the night on a breakaway layup with less than two minutes to go in the first period.
 
Ngumezi totaled 13 points in the opening 20 minutes, going 5-for-6 from the field and a perfect 3-for-3 from long range. He also contributed two rebounds and an assist in the first half.
 
Murray State was led by Carter's 21 points, while KJ Williams totaled 19 and Brown finished with 14. Williams completed a double-double with 11 boards
 
Jacksonville State wraps up the road trip Saturday, Jan. 23 with a trip to Clarksville, Tenn. The Gamecocks and Austin Peay meet at 4 p.m. at the Dunn Center. Jax State returns to Pete Mathews Coliseum on Thursday, Jan. 28 to host Morehead State.
 
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