JACKSONVILLE – The Jacksonville State men's basketball team matched its longest winning streak of the season Saturday with an 80-60 win over SIUE at Pete Mathews Coliseum.
 
The fourth Jax State win in a row came as five scored in double figures for the Gamecocks (14-7, 10-5 OVC), including a 16-point performance by Amanze Ngumezi.
 
"We will take that from him every night," Head Coach Ray Harper said. "Amanze and Brandon Huffman gave them a lot of trouble on the inside – especially when they tried doubling them. Amanze is a great shooter, but when he establishes himself in the low post area, he's hard to beat. I feel like that's the best part of his game."
 
The two forwards combined for 29 points, helping JSU outscore SIUE (8-11, 6-7 OVC) by 16 in the paint. They also totaled 15 rebounds, bullying the Cougars 40-29 on the boards for 19 second-chance points.
 
The Jacksonville State defense forced the Cougars to cough up the ball 15 times Saturday, capitalizing on the miscues for 19 points. It was the sixth time this season the Gamecocks forced 15 turnovers or more. On the other end of the court, the offense shared the ball for 30 field goals on 21 assists.
 
"I thought we took some steps forward today," Harper said. "We're still taking steps as we come down the stretch, and we still have two weeks to get better."
 
SIUE led for less than 25 seconds following a Courtney Carter 3-pointer that gave the Cougars a brief 3-2 advantage. Kayne Henry erased the lead on a layup and the Gamecocks never looked back.
 
Trailing by 13 with seconds to go before halftime, SIUE's Sidney Wilson hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to pull the Jax State lead down to a dime, 40-30, but the two teams would match their scores exactly in the second half to push the game's final to 20 points.
 
After a quiet first half, Jalen Finch scored eight points to lead JSU through the final 20 minutes. The point guard scored three of his four baskets in the last period, including a 3-pointer and a free throw.
 
To go along with Amanze's 16 and Huffman's 13, Demaree King and Finch each tallied 11 points. Darian Adams ended the night with 10 points to round out double-digit scorers.
 
Wilson was the Cougars' leading scorer, snagging 17 points on 6-for-15 shooting.
 
The Gamecocks go on the road next week, traveling to Music City for a pair of OVC contests. Jax State visits Belmont on Thursday for a 7 p.m. matchup. JSU wraps up the trip to the Volunteer State on Saturday at 4 p.m. against Tennessee State at the Gentry Center.
 
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