Thursday, March 3
JACKSONVILLE
6 p.m.
Jax State
vs
Kennesaw State
3/2/2022 6:39:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Game Notes | Watch | Live Stats | Tickets
JACKSONVILLE – With a regular-season ASUN Conference championship in the books, the Jacksonville State men's basketball team turns its attention to postseason play and the league championship.
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The Gamecocks (20-9, 13-3 ASUN) earned a bye to the quarterfinal round of the 2022 ASUN Tournament by finishing in the top two of the West Division, which they won. That lined JSU up with an opening contest against Kennesaw State by way of the Owls advancing out of the first round with a win over Eastern Kentucky at home on Tuesday night.
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JSU and KSU (13-17, 7-9 ASUN) met only once in the regular season with a 70-64 decision going the way of the Gamecocks at the KSU Convocation Center in Kennesaw. Despite barely a 90-mile campus separation the Jan. 27 meeting was only the second between the two programs, both road contests for the Gamecocks. That makes Thursday's quarterfinal clash the first-ever visit for the Owls to Pete Mathews Coliseum.
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Thursday's matchup is slated for a 6:03 p.m. start time and will stream on ESPN+. All fans are required to have a ticket to ASUN postseason games, JSU season ticket holders do not receive automatic admission. Tickets are available online at JSUGamecockSports.com/tickets or by calling the JSU ticket office at 256-782-8499. Ticket prices are $10 for adults, $5 for children ages 3-18 and free for JSU students. The contest will be a "White-Out" for Jax State will fans encouraged to wear white in support of the Gamecocks. JSU's student section will be giving away white "Cocky" T-shirts.
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The Gamecocks enter on the heels of Coach Ray Harper earning the league's Coach of the Year honor and senior guard Darian Adams being a unanimous selection for First-Team All-ASUN. Adams led JSU during the season with 15.8 points per game to go along with 44 steals, 107 assists and 149 rebounds. He was flanked on either side by two of the best three-point shooters in the nation with Demaree King and Jalen Gibbs, both of whom are on pace to reach JSU's single-season three-point mark. Jalen Finch, a junior guard from Raleigh, N.C., orchestrated the offense with 125 assists, while seniors Kayne Henry and Brandon Huffman made life just as tough for opponents in the low post.
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JSU's No. 1 seed entering the tournament is the highest in the program's Division I era. The Gamecocks are making their sixth-straight conference postseason appearance under Harper, and have won at least one postseason game in four of the previous five seasons.
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The winner of Thursday's quarterfinal matchup is slated to meet the winner of Jacksonville and Central Arkansas on Saturday at 6 p.m. in the semifinals. Jax State has earned the right to host all of their tournament games at Pete Mathews Coliseum. Â Â
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JACKSONVILLE – With a regular-season ASUN Conference championship in the books, the Jacksonville State men's basketball team turns its attention to postseason play and the league championship.
Â
The Gamecocks (20-9, 13-3 ASUN) earned a bye to the quarterfinal round of the 2022 ASUN Tournament by finishing in the top two of the West Division, which they won. That lined JSU up with an opening contest against Kennesaw State by way of the Owls advancing out of the first round with a win over Eastern Kentucky at home on Tuesday night.
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JSU and KSU (13-17, 7-9 ASUN) met only once in the regular season with a 70-64 decision going the way of the Gamecocks at the KSU Convocation Center in Kennesaw. Despite barely a 90-mile campus separation the Jan. 27 meeting was only the second between the two programs, both road contests for the Gamecocks. That makes Thursday's quarterfinal clash the first-ever visit for the Owls to Pete Mathews Coliseum.
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Thursday's matchup is slated for a 6:03 p.m. start time and will stream on ESPN+. All fans are required to have a ticket to ASUN postseason games, JSU season ticket holders do not receive automatic admission. Tickets are available online at JSUGamecockSports.com/tickets or by calling the JSU ticket office at 256-782-8499. Ticket prices are $10 for adults, $5 for children ages 3-18 and free for JSU students. The contest will be a "White-Out" for Jax State will fans encouraged to wear white in support of the Gamecocks. JSU's student section will be giving away white "Cocky" T-shirts.
Â
The Gamecocks enter on the heels of Coach Ray Harper earning the league's Coach of the Year honor and senior guard Darian Adams being a unanimous selection for First-Team All-ASUN. Adams led JSU during the season with 15.8 points per game to go along with 44 steals, 107 assists and 149 rebounds. He was flanked on either side by two of the best three-point shooters in the nation with Demaree King and Jalen Gibbs, both of whom are on pace to reach JSU's single-season three-point mark. Jalen Finch, a junior guard from Raleigh, N.C., orchestrated the offense with 125 assists, while seniors Kayne Henry and Brandon Huffman made life just as tough for opponents in the low post.
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JSU's No. 1 seed entering the tournament is the highest in the program's Division I era. The Gamecocks are making their sixth-straight conference postseason appearance under Harper, and have won at least one postseason game in four of the previous five seasons.
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The winner of Thursday's quarterfinal matchup is slated to meet the winner of Jacksonville and Central Arkansas on Saturday at 6 p.m. in the semifinals. Jax State has earned the right to host all of their tournament games at Pete Mathews Coliseum. Â Â
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Players Mentioned
/ Men's Basketball
/ Men's Basketball
/ Men's Basketball
/ Men's Basketball
/ Men's Basketball
/ Men's Basketball
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