JACKSONVILLE – Jacksonville State fell in a hard-fought 68-62 contest to Jacksonville on Saturday afternoon at Pete Mathews Coliseum in the second meeting between the two schools in 12 days.
 
The Gamecocks (8-11, 1-5 ASUN) have now been matched with JU (10-7, 3-3 ASUN) in three of their last seven ASUN contests dating back to last year's tournament semifinal meeting.
 
For the second game in a row, a trio of Gamecocks reached double figures, led by senior Demaree King with 14 points. But it wasn't enough versus an efficient Dolphin club that shot 50-percent. Senior Skyelar Potter and junior Amanze Ngumezi each finished with 10 points, while sophomore Marcellus Brigham Jr. grabbed a team-high nine rebounds once again.
 
After getting stymied by JU less than two weeks ago, Jax State led most of the first half on its way to a 29-28 halftime advantage. The Dolphins started hot in the second half connecting on nine of their first 11 attempts (81.8%), while JSU slid into an almost five-minute stretch with only a free throw to lose control of the lead.
 
Down by as many as 10 with just over nine minutes remaining, JSU clawed its way back to within four in the final 30 seconds on a basket by JJ Platt, but JU remained poised at the free throw line down the stretch to eliminate JSU's best chances at a comeback. The Dolphins made 14 of their 15 attempts from the stripe.
 
JSU continues a rigorous trek through the league with road games at Florida Gulf Coast and unbeaten Stetson next week.