JACKSONVILLE – Brandon Huffman's third double-double of the season was what the Jacksonville State men's basketball team needed to sweep Austin Peay for the first time in school history, winning 75-67 Saturday at Pete Mathews Coliseum.
 
Huffman led the Gamecocks (17-8, 13-6 OVC) with 18 points and 12 rebounds in the senior night contest. He helped Jax State shoot nearly 60 percent and score 36 points in the paint with his 7-for-8 clip from the field. On the other end of the court, the 6-foot-10 forward and the defense held the Governors (14-12, 10-10 OVC) to just 36.9 percent shooting.
 
"Our focus going into this one was to utilize our size," Huffman. "Terry Taylor is a really good player. He's one of the shorter post players in the league, but that gives him an advantage or guarding guys. I had to make sure I made the most of my touches."
 
Despite trailing for no more than two baskets for the first quarter of the game, the Gamecocks seemed to take control of the contest midway through the opening period. A second-chance layup from Jalen Finch followed by buckets from Kayne Henry and Juwan Perdue put Jax State up by eight at the 6:24 mark. Demaree King, who tallied nine points and played 28 minutes off the bench, hit a 3-pointer to extend JSU's lead to nine, 34-25, at the half.
 
The Gamecocks' run continued after the horn, going on to score 12 straight points two minutes deep into the second half, but the Govs stormed back and took a six-point lead just minutes later. Alec Woodard fueled a 14-point streak with a pair of treys to give Austin Peay its first lead since the 13-minute mark of the first half.
 
Without the help of a called timeout, Jacksonville State got back on track on the back of Huffman. The big guy scored six points in a three-minute span to push the Gamecocks ahead by one. Two made free throws from both Darian Adams and Perdue built the lead to four, and Amanze Ngumezi stomped out on the Govs' momentum with a dagger 3-pointer.
 
"I have to give our guys a lot of credit," Head Coach Ray Harper said. "When Austin Peay went on that run to go up, I was not going to take a timeout. They were going to have to play through it and figure it out. I feel like it's that time of year when you face adversity, you have to figure out how you're going to react. And we responded. We made plays, and that's what you have to do to win games like this."
 
Taylor and Carlos Paez totaled 17 and 20 points, respectively, and combined to shoot 54 percent (13-for-24), while the rest of the APSU squad shot 27 percent (11-for-41) for the game.
 
Jacksonville State ended the night with Adams (12) and Ngumezi (11) in double figures scored. Kayne Henry missed a double-double by a rebound and a point.
 
Martin Roub received his first start of the season as Finch and the four seniors got the nod in the final home game of the season.
 
In addition to the regular-season sweep of APSU, it marks the first time Jacksonville State has swept all four games with the Govs and Murray State in the same season. It also ties the program record for JSU's winningest February in Division I history with a 7-2 record in the shortest month of the year.
 
Saturday's win buys the Gamecocks a date with Murray State in the first round of the OVC Men's Basketball Championships in Evansville, Indiana. Fourth-seeded Jax State is set to meet the fifth-seed Racers for the third time this season Thursday at 7 p.m. on ESPN+.
 
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