IRVINE, Calif. – A season that saw the Jacksonville State Men's Basketball finish one win shy of its Division I program record came to a close on Sunday in Irvine, Calif. In a 66-61 loss at the hands of UC Irvine.
This season saw the Gamecocks finish as the Conference USA runners-up, just one game shy of an NCAA Tournament appearance and take home a dominant 81-64 win over Georgia Tech in the team's first NIT appearance in program history.
Jax State (23-13) failed to net a field goal in the final 3:59 of the contest, with No. 1 UC Irvine (30-6) holding on for its 30th win of the season.
In a physical contest, Jax State entered the half trailing the Big West runners-up 36-35. The Gamecocks shot 46.4 percent from the field in the first half, and only trailed by one point despite the Anteaters knocking down three more triples.
The two teams traded leads in the early makings of the second half, with Jax State pulling ahead on a
Michael Houge putback layup with 14:03 remaining.
UC Irvine swiftly regained the lead before Jax State took a 55-53 advantage just out of the under eight media timeout. The Anteaters outscored the Gamecocks 13-6 over the final 5:20 of play to advance to the NIT Quarterfinal round.
Jaron Pierre Jr. led Jax State with 15 points, also adding 11 rebounds and four assists. In his final collegiate contest, fifth-year senior
Marcellus Brigham Jr. tallied 14 points and six boards. Brigham has served as a crucial member for the Gamecocks, starring in over 100 career games for the team.
Freshman
Quel'Ron House also finished with 10 points while
Michael Houge added nine rebounds.
With the loss, Jax State finished one loss shy of the Division I program record of 24 wins set in 2018-19. The Gamecock team that was picked to finish eighth in the CUSA Preseason Poll finished its year as one of three teams to participate in postseason play.
With his second three pointer in the game,
Jaron Pierre Jr. surpassed Demaree King for the most three pointers in a single season by a Gamecock, tallying three-pointers this season. Pierre also scored the most points in a single season by any Jax State player, scoring 777 points in 36 games.
