JACKSONVILLE—A 19-point effort from a freshman to wipe out a 14-point deficit to move to 3-1 in Conference USA play.
 
Jacoby Hill had his fifth game in double figures, scoring a career-high 19 points on 8-of-10 shooting with three rebounds and an assist in a 71-64 win over FIU on Wednesday night at the Pete Mathews Coliseum to improve to 8-7 on the year.
 
FIU scored the first 14 points of the game until Hill connected on a left wing 3-pointer at the 14:15 mark. Jax State was able to whittle the lead down to two with a 10-0 run, holding the Panthers scoreless for 4:13.
 
Emondrek Erkins-Ford was a key catalyst with six of his 10 points in the game off the bench in the first 10 minutes.
 
A 10-0 run over 4:26 was part of a greater 20-2 run that spanned 8:34 and pushed Jax State to a 23-17 lead with 4:20 left. A layup by Mostapha El Moutaouakkil with 5:15 left gave the hosts their first lead of the game. Marcus Fitzgerald Jr. connected on a triple from the left corner with 4:22 left to push the lead to six and force an FIU timeout.
 
"I wasn't real excited about what was going on," said coach Ray Harper of the early deficit. "If we were going to win the game, we were going to get the ball moving and get some cutters off the ball."
 
Jax State matched its biggest lead of the game on another triple by Fitzgerald Jr. with 39 seconds left in the half to take a 31-25 lead into the locker room.
 
Fitzgerald was one of four Gamecocks in double figures with 10 points.
 
In the second half, FIU tied the game at 37 on a right-wing triple by Corey Stephenson with 15:04 left. The Panthers regained the lead at the 13:22 mark on a Zawdie Jackson 3-pointer from the right side and extended it to three on a layup with 12:55 left to force a Gamecock timeout.
 
Out of the timeout, Hill connected on a step back 3-ball off the dribble from the right side to knot the game at 44 with 12:25 left, which started an 12-0 run, with eight coming off the hands of Hill including a circus layup in the lane where he drew a foul and converted the free throw to help the hosts hold a 56-46 lead with 9:10 left.
 
"There's times he doesn't understand how good he can be," said Harper of Hill. "He's our best defender and draws that assignment every night, he's a good passer, and can put the ball in his hands."
 
El Moutaouakkil finished with 18 points, six rebounds, and three assists.
 
Prior to tonight's game, the largest defect Jax State had overcome was six at East Tennessee State.
 
Jax State will be on the road Saturday to take on Kennesaw State at 4 p.m. Central.