JACKSONVILLE—Winners of back-to-back games to move into sole possession of second place in Conference USA, the Jax State men's basketball team will play the middle game of its three-game homestand tomorrow night against UTEP at 6 p.m.
 
The Gamecocks wrapped up a three-game road trip with a win at Western Kentucky on Thursday, then put together an impressive performance on both ends in a 19-point win over Kennesaw State.
 
Jax State held the Owls, which came into the game 19^th nationally in scoring at 86.6 points per game, to just 58 points. It was just the second time in 23 games the Owls failed to reach 60 points.
 
Senior Jaye Nash had a career-high 19 points, making a career-best five field goals in Saturday's game. Mostapha El Moutaouakkil recorded his eighth game of the season with 20+ points with 26, matching his career-high for 3-pointers in a game with three.
 
Iaroslav Niagu has recorded career-highs in seven career-high marks in his last two games which was highlighted by his first career double-double on Thursday with 19 points and 12 rebounds. He picked up another 12 boards against Kennesaw State along with a career-best four blocked shots.
 
UTEP is coming off an overtime win over I-10 rival New Mexico State on Saturday, marking their third overtime win of the year. They trailed by 10 with 6:13 remaining before mounting the comeback which included a 3-pointer from Kaseem Watson with 4.4 seconds left.
 
The Miners are second in Conference USA in steals per game at 7.8 and turnovers forced per game at 13.3. Senior Jamal West Jr. is one of the league's top shooters at 56.6% from the field. The Baltimore native averages 14 points and a team-best 6.9 rebounds per game.