LITTLE ROCK – Playing in the heart of diamond-rich Arkansas, junior Demaree King uncovered a gem of a game with a career-best 32 points to help Jacksonville State run away from Little Rock late in the second half at the Jack Stephens Center.
 
The win pushed JSU (6-6) back to a .500 record heading into a week-long break, while the Trojans fell to 5-7 with the loss. King was not alone in standout performances, LR's Marco Lukic led his team with a career-best 25, but after scoring the opening basket of the second half, he was held scoreless the remainder of the game as the Gamecocks keyed in defensively.
 
King's marquee performance featured an efficient 11-of-14 shooting, including 9-for-11 from beyond the arc. His nine triples and 32 points both game down as the second-most by an opposing player at the Jack Stephens Center, behind Georgia State's Devin Mitchell who hit 10 treys and 38 points on Feb. 3, 2018.
 
Despite King's final line and JSU's 20-point margin of victory, Tuesday was not an easy victory for Jax State. The lead swapped hands seven times and the Trojans led for more than nine minutes, including a one-point halftime advantage.
 
Seniors Kayne Henry and Darian Adams followed King with 13 and 12 points, respectively. Junior Jalen Finch, who returned to the starting lineup after a two-game hiatus, matched Henry with a team-high eight rebounds and orchestrated much of the offense with 10 assists. Finch is just the second current Gamecock to dish double-digit assists in their career, along with Adams who also had 10 against Belmont last January.
 
One of King's early treys made it a 19-11 lead for JSU, but the Trojans slowed erased the deficit until finally tying things up at 28-28 with seven minutes to go to the half. The two clubs exchanged baskets throughout a 40-all tie with two minutes left in the half. A Little Rock three would stand as the halftime lead after a Juwan Perdue dunk pulled JSU within one at 43-42.
 
JSU's win was just the second of the season when trailing at the half. Still all knotted at 47 three minutes into the second half, Adams converted a pair of free throws followed by Maros Zeliznak's inside bucket and eventually another King three for a 9-0 run to give JSU its first cushion of the day. Little Rock shaved the margin back to five at 58-53 with just under 11 minutes remaining, but that would be the final time it was tight as Brandon Huffman's turnaround jumper began a 29-14 stretch where the Gamecocks put the game away.
 
JSU returns home for a pair of games between Christmas and New Year's. JSU hosts Carver College on Tuesday, Dec. 28 at 6 p.m. and Middle Georgia State on Thursday, Dec. 30 at 7:30. Perhaps already looking ahead at his return to The Natural State, King and the Gamecocks will be back just north of Little Rock on January 18 when they face Central Arkansas in Conway.