JACKSONVILLE – For the seventh-straight season under head coach Ray Harper, the Jacksonville State Gamecocks won their home opener of the season after a 111-48 shellacking of the visiting Shorter Hawks.
 
A three-pointer at the final horn gave the Hawks (0-1) an even 24 points apiece each half. Jax State (1-0) scored 32 points while SU scored its first 21 of the night, by the time the Hawks added another 21 the Gamecocks had sprinted away for 75 more and a 107-42 advantage.  
 
The Gamecocks garnered offense across the board with all 12 players that saw the floor scoring. Senior transfer Skyelar Potter led the way with 20 points, two shy of his career best, followed by fellow newcomer Clarence "Monzy" Jackson with 17. Senior Demaree King added 16, while junior Amanze Ngumezi tallied 15 in his return from injury that forced him to miss all of last year.
 
Junior Juwan Perdue cleaned the glass with a career-high 11 rebounds as the Gamecocks out-rebounded Shorter 48-28. While JSU controlled the paint with a 40-16 scoring advantage, the Gamecock guards proved to be just as dangerous from the outside with 17 triples on the night.
 
After a quick 10-2 lead, the margin remained around 10 points for most of the first half. Leading 32-21 with under five minutes to play in the first half, a 15-1 run stretched the gap for the first time. Following a 52-24 halftime lead, JSU used a 9-0 run early in the second half and never looked back on its way to reaching a 66-point margin in the closing seconds.
 
The 111-point total is the highest since the Gamecocks posted 123 against Carver College last December. Monday marked the 186th 100-point game in school history, with JSU victorious is 174 of those. Meanwhile, 63 points is the sixth-largest margin of victory in program history.
 
JSU has one week before returning to action next Monday night in the Windy City in the first-ever meeting with the University of Illinois – Chicago (UIC).