ELON – In just its fourth season since opening, it's unlikely the Schar Center on the campus of Elon University has seen anything like senior Jalen Gibbs' performance on Saturday as he poured in 40 points to lead JSU to a 93-81 road win over the Phoenix.
 
A senior transfer from Mount St. Mary's, Gibbs will see his name rest in the Gamecock history books for quite a while as his 40 points set the program record for points in a game during JSU's Division I era. Most recently, Greg Tucker had 36 in the 2015-16 season finale against Morehead State, but the record belonged to Trenton Marshall with 37 at Southeast Missouri in 2010. Gibbs' mark was the most by any Gamecock since Robert Lee Sanders had 41 against Troy State on Jan. 13, 1990. The all-time mark remains with Melvin Allen who scored 42 on Feb. 8, 1984 against West Georgia.
 
The Gamecocks (3-3) carried the momentum from a strong second half against Drexel into Saturday, where Jax State put together its best offensive game of the season behind Gibbs' historic output. JSU shot 61-percent from the floor, and a staggering 71-percent from three-point range on 17-of-24 from beyond the arc. Gibbs was responsible for a school-record 10 of those treys on just 12 attempts. The Indiana Head, Md., native, finished 13-for-17 overall.
 
Despite the high-scoring shootout, JSU maintained control most of the day. Elon led 7-5 five minutes into the game, before junior Demaree King sparked the offensive surge with a pair of threes to bookend a triple from Gibbs for a quick 9-0 Gamecock run that forced a Phoenix timeout. The lead stayed around six most of the next ten minutes, when senior Darian Adams, who finished with 14 points, and Gibbs put in back-to-back buckets to extended the margin to double digits for the first time at 41-30.
 
A 10-point game just before half, JSU grabbed a defensive rebound with six seconds to go and pushed it up the floor to find Gibbs who drained his seventh three-point of the half as the horn sounded to make it 46-33.
 
Senior Brandon Huffman, back in his home state of North Carolina, opened the second half with an inside bucket on his way to finishing with 11 points and seven boards. The scoring run went to 13-0 after Adams and Kayne Henry buried outside shots for the largest lead of the day at 21.
 
Elon fought back to cut it to 11 at 59-48 with 12 minutes remaining, but the gap never dropped to single digits as JSU kept the foot on the pedal offensively.
 
A triple by Gibbs with eight minutes to play put him at 34 and nearing some significant marks. He tacked on a free throw after the under-four media break to reach 35, and cemented history with his final three on the next possession to reach 38. A pair of late free throws capped his day at an even 40.
 
Back at .500 for the first time this season, and returning home from a week-long road trip, JSU will get some rest before hosting South Alabama at Pete Mathews Coliseum next Saturday, Dec. 4.