MARTIN, Tenn. – The Jacksonville State men's basketball team downed UT Martin 82-70 Thursday night at the Elam Center, extending its winning streak to five games over the Skyhawks.
 
Seniors Brandon Huffman and Darian Adams each tallied 16 points to help the Gamecocks (11-7, 7-5 OVC) overcome a UTM team that shot 50 percent from 3-point range in the 70th meeting between the two programs.
 
"Forcing those 14 turnovers were big in us winning tonight," Head Coach Ray Harper said. "And Brandon Huffman caused them a lot of problems. Any time we gave Huff the ball, something good happened, and he's only going to get better."
 
Adams helped the Gamecocks to a 46-34 lead at the half when he came alive for seven points in the last three minutes of the first. The senior knocked down a 3-pointer to put Jax State up by a half-best 12 points, 42-30, and made sure the period ended with a 12-point advantage by hitting the last basket before the teams went to the locker rooms.
 
Huffman was Jacksonville State's scoring and rebounding leader following the opening 20 minutes, scoring 11 points on 4-for-5 shooting and four free throws. He crashed the glass for five boards.
 
After finding themselves down by 15 points only a few minutes into the second, the Skyhawks (5-11, 3-9 OVC) battled back to pull within six points of the JSU lead. Forward Jaron Williams paced UT Martin with 21 points accompanied by a team-best 5-for-7 clip from beyond the arc. His 10 points in the second period whittled the Gamecock advantage to 65-59 with 8:21 to play.
 
With the Skyhawks threatening, junior point guard Jalen Finch drained a big 3-pointer to extend Jax State's lead back to double digits and put a halt to the UTM momentum. Adams finished off the Skyhawks with a thunderous two-handed dunk following a steal and feed from Finch.
 
The Gamecocks will arrive in Cape Girardeau, Missouri early Friday morning for a Saturday evening contest with Southeast Missouri. Tipoff against the Redhawks is scheduled for 4 p.m. at the Show Me Center.
 
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