LOUISVILLE – Jacksonville State put together a statement performance on Sunday night inside Freedom Hall taking down the host Bellarmine Knights, 82-67.
 
The Gamecocks (18-9) match last season's final mark from a Covid-shortened schedule, but more importantly, cement themselves atop the ASUN west division with two regular-season games remaining. JSU runs its league record to 11-3 in its first season back in the ASUN. Tied with Liberty for the league's overall lead, the Gamecocks own the tiebreaker courtesy of their January road win in Lynchburg.
 
The Knights fall to 16-12 and 10-4 in conference action after the second loss of the season to Jax State. The Gamecocks could claim the ASUN west division crown at home on Wednesday with a win over Eastern Kentucky or another loss by Bellarmine.
 
Jax State shot lights out in the dominating victory, hovering around 60 percent shooting for most of the game before finishing at 55.4 on 31-of-56 from the floor. The real damage came from the outside where jSU connect on 15-of-31 attempts from beyond the arc.
 
Jalen Gibbs and Darian Adams became the Gamecocks to both score 20 points in a game since the same duo did so just over a month ago against Lipscomb. Gibbs finished with 22, while Adams followed just behind with 21. Junior Jalen Finch, fresh off a career-high in his last game, added 17 points, just three away from JSU's first 20-point trio since 2006. Junior Demaree King, still one of the top-five three-point shooters in the nation, pitched in 11 points and knocked down three triples to move five treys shy of the program's single-season three-pointers made record with 77 on the season.
 
Kayne Henry had six points and six boards to move to eighth on the school's Division I career rebounding list. All 13 active Gamecocks saw the floor in the emphatic victory, ending with Tanguy Touze, Caleb Byrd, Semaj Henderson, Marcellus Brigham Jr. and Jay Pal earning time when the final horn sounded.
 
BU score the opening basket of the game, but after Gibbs converted on three-straight free-throws after being fouled on a deep ball, the Gamecocks never trailed the 38:26. JSU's leading scorers made their presence felt early with a trey from Gibbs, Adams and Finch as the Gamecocks instantly lead 12-2 in just three minutes. The margin only grew the rest of the first half finishing at 18 points after 20 minutes with JSU on top, 45-27.
 
Adams buried another three right out of the break and the lead eventually extended to 22 at 49-37 with 14 minutes left to play. It marked the largest lead JSU had built during the conference slate, and the largest against any Division I opponent since leading Little Rock by 25 in late December.
 
The Gamecocks control their postseason destiny now with two home games coming up on Wednesday against EKU and Saturday afternoon versus North Alabama. JSU has already solidified a first-round by in the ASUN Championships and will host a quarterfinal contest on Thursday, March 3 at Pete Mathews Coliseum.