JACKSONVILLE – A 22-0 run spanning between both halves was all Jacksonville State needed to put away the visiting Elon Phoenix on Tuesday night at Pete Mathews Coliseum.
Jax State (2-2) handed Elon (1-5) its second loss in as many seasons, after taking last year's meeting in North Carolina, to claim a 2-0 series lead. JSU shot 50-percent from the field and dropped a dozen three-pointers in Tuesday's 78-53 win.
Senior
Skyelar Potter led JSU with 16 points, but as has been the case this season, he was in line with several other leading scorers in
Demaree King (15) and
Juwan Perdue (13). Potter and Perdue also hauled in team highs in rebounds with eight and seven, respectively.
Elon led for most of the first half, holding a 19-12 advantage with 12 minutes remaining in the opening half. Jax State eventually evened the score at 22 on one of Potter's three triples of the night. A Clarence "Monzy" Jackson bucket gave JSU the lead soon after.
The Gamecocks led 30-29 with just over two minutes to play until halftime, when
Peyton Daniels' three sparked what became a 22-0 run over the next seven minutes of game action. JSU finished the first half on a 9-0 run to lead 39-29 at the break, and opened with the first 13 points of the second half to blow the game open at 52-29.
JSU led by as many 33 at 76-43. Even after finally scoring in the second half, Elon was limited to just nine points for the first 13 minutes as JSU slowly extended the margin.
Jax State now prepares to head west for Albuquerque, N.M., and the Lobo Classic hosted by New Mexico, Nov. 27-29. The Gamecocks will face UNM, Northern Colorado and North Dakota State as part of the invitational.