LYNCHBURG, Va. – Only one team remains undefeated in ASUN Conference action after Jacksonville State knocked off the three-time defending champions, Liberty, 77-67, on Saturday night.
 
The Gamecocks (15-6) extended their win-streak to 10 games, while advancing to 8-0 in league play with the road upset over Liberty (14-7), who falls to 5-1 in the ASUN. JSU now stands alone atop the conference as the only team yet to suffer a setback in league play.
 
Beyond just knocking off the league's recent powerhouse, JSU came away as the first visiting team to ever leave Liberty Arena victorious since its opening in December of 2020. The Flames had won their first 21 games in the building, but more over, owned the second-longest home-winning streak in overall in Division I basketball at 45 games going back to their previous facility. JSU snapped that streak in grand fashion leading for more than 33 minutes and by as many as 16 at one point to hand Liberty its first home loss in three years to the day, Jan. 29, 2019.
 
Senior Jalen Gibbs led Jax State offensively with 21 points, burying five three-pointers for the fourth time this season. The Indian Head, Md., product, helped JSU grab momentum early with 14 first-half points. Four Gamecocks in total eclipsed double-digits with Jalen Finch (16), Kayne Henry (13) and Demaree King (12) each knocking down big shots. Failing to reach the scoring column was junior Maros Zeliznak, but a season-high seven rebounds, including three big offensive boards at key moments, proved to be pivotal moments.
 
Senior Darian Adams, who finished with nine points and matched Zeliznak with seven boards, scored the first points of the contest after JSU won the tip. The ASUN's leading scorer in LU's Darius McGhee struck early and often putting the Flames back ahead 3-2 on his first bucket before finishing the night with 25 points.
 
With under eight minutes to go until halftime, King drilled his first trey to tie the game at 18. The basket sparked a game-changing 23-4 run over the next seven minutes that took the sold-out crowd out of the game for the remainder of the first half. With back-to-back treys at the back-end of the run, Gibbs helps JSU grab its largest lead of the game at 16 with 30 seconds to play before the break.
 
A questionable call in the final seconds sent LU's McGhee to the line where he hit three free throws to make it a 38-25 halftime score.
 
Seven minutes into the second half, a Flames' three brought the deficit down to five at 43-38, but a monstrous dunk from Brandon Huffman on the other end dampened the crowd and the momentum once again. The score would bounce around five points for the next few minutes as JSU slowly moved into foul trouble, but huge three-pointer from the corner as the shot clock expired from Finch following one of the Zeliznak offensive boards pushed the lead back to 12 at 61-49. The margin stayed in double-digits until McGhee's final bucket with 56 seconds remaining cut it to 72-64. Adams, Finch and Gibbs closed the deal with free throws in the final possessions to cement the program's 10th win in a row.
 
Following a key road weekend sweep, JSU returns home to Pete Mathews Coliseum on Thursday to host North Florida. The Gamecocks will play five of their final eight regular season games at The Pete.