JACKSONVILLE – The Jax State Men's Basketball dropped its Monday night bout against in-state foe North Alabama 73-66 at Pete Mathews Coliseum. The Gamecocks led at the half, but a late UNA surge was too much to overcome.

Jax State took a 34-26 advantage into the halftime break, with help from guard Jamar Franklin. Franklin finished the first half with 13 points, including four made three-pointers.

The Gamecocks and Lions battled for much of the second half, with UNA taking their first lead of the second frame with 10:05 remaining.

In a game that featured nine lead changes, Jax State would take its final lead of the game with 3:09 left in the game on a Mostapha El Moutaouakkil putback layup before North Alabama regained the lead just 16 seconds later and did not look back.

Jax State led for 24 minutes and 15 seconds of game time, but the Lions came out on top with a 73-66 win after a few late free throws extended the Lion lead. The two teams were tied for over nine minutes of action, with 10 ties taking place in the contest.

El Moutaouakkil led the Gamecocks, finishing with his season average 19 points. He also added six rebounds.

Jax State finished with three players in double figures, as AC Bryant and Franklin joined El Moutaouakkil with 18 and 15 points respectively.

Bryant led Jax State with eight boards while Jaye Nash led the club with eight assists.

Donte Bacchus led North Alabama with 19 points while Corneilous Williams had 17 points and 13 rebounds.

Jax State shot just 45 percent from the charity stripe in the contest, making just nine foul shots on 20 attempts.

The Gamecocks had seven blocked shots allowed on Monday night, the most allowed by the team in a game this season. Entering the night, Jax State had only had had nine shots blocked combined across six games.