JACKSONVILLE – Senior Darian Adams left little doubt with a game-high 27 points to lead Jacksonville State over Eastern Kentucky on Wednesday night and help secure JSU's first ASUN Championship.
 
The Gamecocks (19-9, 12-3 ASUN) controlled the game throughout to drop the visiting Colonels (12-17, 4-11 ASUN) by a score of 81-68. The win alone earned JSU the ASUN West Division title with just one game remaining and a two-game lead over the Bellarmine Knights, who JSU swept during the regular season.
 
Adams finished 11-for-18 from the floor with four rebounds and four assists as part of JSU's efficient offense, which finished the night shooting 61-percent with 22 assists and 15 fastbreak points. Etching their senior class in the history books with a title, Jax State's seniors dominated the evening. Kayne Henry (15), Jalen Gibbs (10) and Brandon Huffman (six) joined Adams as the quartet accounted for 58 points. Huffman led on the glass with seven rebounds and a steal.
 
Shortly after the conclusion in Jacksonville, all eyes turned to Lynchburg, Va., where Liberty and Florida Gulf Coast were heading to overtime. An eventually Flames loss dropped LU from its tie with JSU atop the ASUN standings and handed a guaranteed share of the conference championship to the Gamecocks in their first year back in the league. With a win on Saturday, JSU would get to 13 league wins, unmatched by anyone else, and lock up the outright title.
 
Even with a share of the title, the Gamecocks have secured the tiebreaker with Liberty courtesy of their road win on Jan. 29 and will host throughout next week's ASUN Tournament. After already earning a first round bye, JSU will begin postseason play at Pete Mathews Coliseum on March 3 in the ASUN Quarterfinals.
 
On Wednesday, EKU briefly led 12-11 early in the opening half, but a 12-0 Gamecock run midway through the period opened it up to a 33-19 game. JSU led by 17 at the break with 45 points after a sizzling 68-percent shooting half.
 
The lead stretched to as many as 20 at 57-37 following another triple from Adams. The margin never made it back to single digits as JSU closed out a game it led for all but a few seconds.
 
The 2022 ASUN title marks JSU's first Division I regular season crown. The Gamecocks' run to the 2017 NCAA Tournament came after Jax State stormed through the field as a four-seed to win the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament. The last regular season championship belonged to the 1992 Gulf South Conference champion Gamecocks who finished 11-1 in league play at the end of the program's Division II era.
 
Overall, this becomes JSU's 20th men's basketball conference title dating back to the 1962 Alabama Collegiate Conference Tournament title.