HUNTSVILLE, Ala. – Jax State stalled down the stretch allowing a hot-shooting FIU squad to steal a 76-67 win Tuesday night inside Propst Arena to eliminate the Gamecocks from the 2024 Conference USA Tournament.
 
Bringing a close to his storied 137-game career with Jax State, senior Juwan Perdue did his best to extend the season for a slumping Gamecock contingent. The Sumter, S.C., product led Jax State with a season-best 17 points on 7-for-9 shooting, including 2-for-2 from downtown. He pulled down six rebounds and dished two assists.
 
Along with Perdue, redshirt-sophomore Mason Nicholson delivered a monster game helping Jax State dominate in the paint with a career-high in points with 14 and rebounds at 13. The duo were joined in double figures by Marcellus Brigham Jr., who also dropped 14. Collectively, those three accounted for 45 of Jax State's 67 points.  
 
The Gamecocks reached a double-digit lead at 23-12 midway through the first half. The margin was down to seven with just a handful of seconds remaining in the period when FIU drilled a buzzer-beating three-pointer to make it 37-33 at intermission.
 
The Panthers continued to close the gap early in the second stanza, eventually taking a 51-50 lead. The game featured five ties and six lead changes as the two sides went back-and-forth over the next few minutes. A layup by Perdue with just under six minutes remaining gave Jax State a 64-62 edge before FIU drained one of its 11 three-pointers on the night to grab a lead it wouldn't lose.
 
FIU shot 54-percent from the field for the game, including a stellar 11-for-22 from long range. As the Panthers stayed hot from the floor, Jax State stalled down the stretch. Following Perdue's go-ahead layup, the Gamecocks had just one field goal and scored just three points over the final 5:16 of the contest. FIU moved ahead by its largest margin of the night in the closing minutes.
 
Jax State finished the season 14-18.