TROY – It had been 581 games and nearly two decades since Jacksonville State played a triple overtime game, but Tuesday's wild contest with rival Troy turned into just that as the Gamecocks fell in a hard-fought 69-65 fight.
 
The Gamecocks (1-2) struggled offensively throughout the night, beginning with foul trouble in the first half that limited seniors Brandon Huffman and Darian Adams. The Trojans (2-1) weren't able to pull away, but Jax State managed just 20 first-half points for its lowest scoring half since putting up just 13 against Tennessee State on Feb. 28, 2019.
 
After just two first-half points, Adams returned from halftime to score 12 of JSU's next 14 points to finish with 19 on the night. Junior Jalen Finch, who extended the game into a second overtime with two huge free throws, racked up a career-high 20 points in an exhausting 48 minutes of action. He finished one rebound shy of a double-double, while senior Kayne Henry led the squad with 10 boards. Junior Maros Zeliznak stepped in for 37 big minutes with seven rebounds and six points.
 
Trailing 22-20 at intermission, Adams put JSU back on track with a 34-30 lead following his hot start. A Juwan Perdue dunk made it a six-point advantage, but back-to-back threes from Troy evened things at 36 where the back-and-forth battle continued the final nine minutes of regulation.
 
JSU led 49-42 following a fastbreak dunk from Henry, but the Trojans locked down their defense to come all the way back with 1:30 to play. The Trojans had the first last possession of the game, but a last-second jumper rimmed off to send the game to its first overtime.
 
When a late possession in the first OT period didn't result in a tying basket, JSU was forced to foul sending Troy to the free-throw stripe up 55-53 with two shots coming and only six seconds on the clock. A pair of misses opened the door for JSU to stay alive as Finch raced coast-to-coast drawing a foul with 0.3 to play earning himself a trip to the charity stripe. In front of a roaring Trojan Arena the Raleigh, N.C., native, drained both shots to push the game further to a second overtime.
 
There, JSU looked to have a chance to punctuate a remarkable comeback after a Zeliznak dunk made it a four-point Gamecock lead with under three minutes. Troy responded and after a free-throw cut it to three, the Trojans got the rebound from the missed second attempt and kicked out for a game-tying triple.
 
A monster block in the closing seconds for Troy stopped JSU's final possession of the second overtime, sending JSU to its first triple overtime contest since a Feb. 28, 2002 contest with Jacksonville University. Unfortunately like almost two decades ago, Tuesday's triple OT game did not turn out for the best after the Gamecocks managed just one basket from Demaree King in the final period.  
 
Jax State now prepares for its Thanksgiving break tournament in the Bahamas as part of the Baha Mar Hoops Nassau Championship. JSU's first of three games will be next Monday against Abilene Christian, who knocked off Texas in the opening round of last season's NCAA Tournament.