LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Jacksonville State earned its second road win of the week in a big way Thursday, running away from Little Rock, 90-60, at the Jack Stephens Center.
The Gamecocks (6-7) may look at leasing an arena in Arkansas for all road games after continuing a scorching-hot winning streak in the Diamond State. Under
Ray Harper, Jax State is 5-0 in road games in the state with a trio of wins at Central Arkansas, and now an emphatic 2-0 mark versus LR. The last two matchups have resulted in consecutive 30-point victories for the Gamecocks after a 101-71 win at UCA back in February.
Two years ago, former Gamecock
Demaree King dropped 32 points on the Trojans in a 20-point win. On Thursday,
KyKy Tandy poured in a game-high 25 as Jax State pounded the Trojans by 30 in their home gym. Tandy led a trio of Gamecocks in double figures along with
Juwan Perdue (14) and
Quincy Clark (13).
Caleb Johnson and
Andres Burney nearly reached the mark as well as part of dominating performances in the paint.
While the offense stood out with its most points against a Division I opponent this season, the defense was key in Jax State building its separation. The Gamecocks blocked six shots and swiped four steals while limiting LR to just 18-of-64 shooting (28%). Led by Burney with 11 and
Mason Nicholson with a career-high nine rebounds, Jax State controlled the boards with a 53-33 rebounding advantage. It marks the first time Jax State pulled down 50 rebounds in a game since a triple-overtime contest at Troy on Nov. 16, 2021.
Picking up where he left off at Tarleton State on Monday, Tandy opened the game with 16 first-half points as the Gamecock took a modest 34-30 lead into the halftime locker room.
Still a four-point contest three minutes into the second half, Perdue knocked down a jumper in the paint that sparked an 8-0 run that extended into a 15-2 stretch.
The lead reached 20 for the first time when
Marcellus Brigham Jr. found Clark up the court for a fastbreak slam to go up 62-41. Brigham finished with a quiet six points and four boards.
Three days after trailing for 36 minutes before rallying for the win at Tarleton State, Jax State flipped the script to lead for more than 36 minutes on Thursday while outscoring the Trojans 48-28 in the paint.
Following three-straight road games, Jax State returns home for the Christmas break and will resume action from Pete Mathews Coliseum versus Fort Valley State on Dec. 28.
