JACKSONVILLE – The record-setting season rolls on for Jacksonville State as the Gamecocks take down Kennesaw State, 78-67,  at Pete Mathews Coliseum on Thursday night in the quarterfinals of the 2022 ASUN Conference championship.
 
At 39.9 percent shooting, Jax State (21-9) entered the night as the second-best three-point shooting team in the nation. The Gamecocks shot a dismal 16.7 percent from beyond the arc connecting on a season-worse two three-pointers, but is wouldn't matter as JSU's big men went to work down low in dominating fashion.
 
Senior Darian Adams finished with a team-high 17 points, but it was the performance of Maros Zeliznak, Brandon Huffman and Kayne Henry that carried JSU in its first ASUN tournament contest since 2003. In his 101st career game for JSU, Zeliznak stunned the Owls (13-18) with a career best in both points with 14 and rebounds with nine. The Kosice, Slovakia, native's previous highs were 13 points against Brescia College in 2019, and eight boards against both Reinhardt and Alabama A&M in past years.
 
Huffman also poured in 14 points and seven rebounds, keeping JSU on pace with the hot-shooting Owls with six of JSU's first eight points of the game. While KSU hung around with 14 three-pointers, the Gamecocks made their mark in the post outscoring the visitors, 42-18,  in the paint. Henry finished as the fourth Gamecock in double figures with 13 points, while Jalen Finch added eight in limited time.
 
The lead exchanged hands 11 times, mostly in the opening half as KSU continued to drill outside shots. The Owls were poised to take a halftime lead into the break when Adams was fouled in the last second on a deep three that resulted in a trio of made free throws to send JSU to the intermission with a 33-32 advantage. Back-to-back layups from Finch to begin the second gave JSU its largest lead at the time, until Adams hit a three-pointer to extend the lead to double digits for the first time at 51-40 with 12 minutes to go. KSU briefly worked it back to a six-point game, but JSU managed a 10-or-more point cushion for the final six minutes en route to just its second ASUN tournament victory.
 
The only previous win for JSU in the ASUN tournament came in 2002 with a 67-62 win over rival Troy State. The Gamecocks advance to Saturday's semifinal round where they will host Jacksonville University at 6 p.m. with a trip to the championship game on the line. Tickets are already on sale for Saturday's contest and can be purchased online at JSUGamecockSports.com/tickets or by phone by calling the JSU ticket office at 256-782-8499 during business hours.
 
With the win, Ray Harper earned his 550th career victory.