JACKSONVILLE – After playing five of their last seven games on the road, the Jax State men's basketball team returns to Pete Mathews Coliseum to host Sam Houston on Thursday at 6 p.m.
 
Road tested through the first half of the Conference USA schedule, Jax State (11-12, 3-5 CUSA) now gets to play five of its final eight games of the season inside the friendly confines of The Pete. While at home, the task doesn't get any easier beginning with the Bearkats (13-10, 6-2 CUSA) on Thursday evening. Currently second in the league standings, the Bearkats are the final CUSA team that Jax State has yet to play this season. The Gamecocks will end the regular season in Huntsville, Texas, on March 9.
 
The Gamecocks are coming off a couple of tough losses out west to UTEP and New Mexico State. Saturday's final-seconds setback to the Aggies was Jax State's seventh game of the season decided in the final minute and by three-or-fewer points. The Bearkats similarly enter Thursday coming off a road setback at FIU which bumped Sam Houston out of a tie for the conference lead.
 
Jax State is one of three CUSA teams with a top-25 scoring defense (LA Tech, Liberty), and that will get tested by SHSU who's Lamar Wilkerson and Davon Barnes each among the top 10 scorers in conference with 14 points per game. Jax State still has CUSA's leading scorer in KyKy Tandy (18.6 PPG), but also features scoring threats Quincy Clark, Juwan Perdue and Mason Nicholson who have each posted double-double games this season.  
 
Thursday's game tips at 6 p.m. and will broadcast on ESPN+.