NASHVILLE – Junior
Jalen Finch's career-high 21 points helped Jacksonville State hang with Lipscomb on the road Wednesday night until the Gamecocks were able to pull away late a 78-67 win.
Four Gamecocks overall reached double figures as Jax State (17-9, 10-3 ASUN) snapped a two-game skid to remain atop the conference standings. The Bisons (11-17, 4-9 ASUN) meanwhile drop to 0-4 all-time in the series with JSU.
The league office announced Wednesday evening that the win secured JSU at least a top-two finish in the west division, and in the process, earned a first round bye to begin the ASUN Conference tournament. This season's tournament will be played at campus sites with the highest seed hosting each matchup.
Finch, a Raleigh, N.C., product, had a team-best 14 points and the half, and bested his previous high of 20 with crucial free throws in the closing minutes. Senior Dariand Adams and
Jalen Gibbs pitched in 16 and 13 points apiece, respectively, while
Demaree King added 11 in the second half alone.
It was a back-and-forth contest for most of the game with both squads shooting above 55 percent in the opening 20 minutes for a deadlocked 41-41 halftime score. JSU finished the night shooting at a 54 percent clip (30-56), but the Bisons slipped to 41 percent after managing just five points in the final eight minutes. A three-pointer from Finch gave JSU its first lead of the second-half at 63-62 with 7:36 remaining. The Gamecocks finished on an 18-5 run to close out the game that featured seven ties and six lead changes.
King had seven of JSU's nine points in a stretch that stretched the lead to 10 for the first time. In the closing minutes, LU attempted to climb back by putting JSU at the line, but the Gamecock converted on six of eight free throws. The Bisons were 14-of-21 from the stripe as the Gamecocks seemingly racked up early fouls.
JSU outrebounded LU< 34-29,="" with="" leading="" contributions="" from="" adams,="" brandon="" huffman="" and="" kayne="" henry.="" the="" bisons="" were="" limited="" to="" just="" four="" second-chance="">
Jax State turns its attention to Bellarmine on Sunday with a road matchup in Louisville. The two teams sit with identical 10-3 league marks at the top of the west division, but JSU currently owns the tiebreaker from its win in Jacksonville.
