BOX SCORE

CHARLESTON, Ill. – Eastern Illinois held off the Jacksonville State basketball team on Saturday, when the Gamecocks fell 50-48 in a defensive battle in Ohio Valley Conference play at Lantz Arena.

After holding a seven-point halftime advantage, a seven-minute drought to start the second half proved costly for the Gamecocks (5-7, 1-1 OVC). The Panthers (8-5, 2-1 OVC) never led by more than four, but the four-point advantage they held in the final minutes were just too much for JSU to overcome.

“They went on a run over the first several minutes to start the second half that really hurt us, and I'm very disappointed in the way we came out to start the second half,” JSU head coach James Green said. “When we are leading at the half, we talk about trying to play like the score is 0-0, and I am disappointed in our focus level to start the half.”

The lead changed hands three times in the final five minutes, but a 3-pointer by Tyler Laser with 2:25 to play gave EIU the late four-point advantage that the Gamecocks didn't have an answer for. They were able to cut the lead to one twice and a T.J. Marion missed free throw with eight seconds to play gave the Gamecocks a late shot to win it, but Jay-R Strowbridge drove and left his attempt to tie it just short.

The loss was the third in a row for the Gamecocks and their fourth on the road in as many away games in 2009-10 and was fueled by the team's shooting woes. JSU shot 29 percent from the floor, 22 percent in the second half after missing 16 of its first 18 attempts from the floor after the intermission.

JSU held EIU to a 36 percent clip from the field, but a hot start to that last half keyed a 44 percent effort in the second half that was just enough to win the Panthers' seventh in a row in the series.

“We didn't play with very much detail, especially offensively,” Green added. “And honestly, we had problems defensivly that forced us into a zone, which isn't what we prefer to do. We just didn't play with the toughness that we have to have to win games like this, and until we get that toughness, we are going to have trouble in these situations.”

Nick Murphy led three Gamecocks in double figures with 12 points, while Strowbridge and Stephen Hall added 11 and 10, respectively. The Panthers got 18 from Jeremy Granger, who scored 14 of them in the second half. Ousmane Cisse pulled in a game-high 18 boards to lead EIU to a 44-39 advantage on the glass.

JSU junior Jeremy Bynum was 1-for-3 from behind the arc to tie Scott Watson for fifth on the school's career 3-pointers made list. The Oxford, Ala., native now has 136 career treys, just 11 shy of Jay Knowlton's Division I record.

The Gamecocks' leading scorer, junior Trenton Marshall, scored just three points on the night, connecting on one of his nine attempts from the floor. The OVC's leading free throw shooter also failed to get to the line I the game.

EIU's leading scorer also had a tough time with the Gamecock defense. Tyler Laser, the Panthers' only player averaging double figures on the season, scored just eight points on a 3-for-8 night from the floor.

EIU led briefly, holding a 9-5 advantage after the first seven minutes of the first half. JSU took over for the rest of the half, outscoring the Panthers, 22-11 over the final 12:30 to take a 27-20 lead into the locker room at the half.

Hall and Strowbridge each scored eight points to lead all scorers in the first 20 minutes, while eight of the nine Gamecocks that saw the floor in the half pulled in at least one board to pace a 22-19 rebounding edge for JSU. EIU made just eight of its 28 field goal attempts in the half, while the Gamecocks were 11-for-30 from the floor.

The Panthers scored the first seven points to start the second half to tie the score at 27-27, a run that was keyed by Granger. The EIU guard scored seven of the Panthers' first nine points out of the locker room to even the score early in the final half.

A pair of Hall free throws less than two minutes in were all the Gamecocks got until a backdoor cut led to a Jeremy Bynum lay in with 12:35 to play. The bucket was JSU first of the half and tied the game at 31-31.

Both defenses continued to work, and senior Amadou Mbodji converted a three-point play the old fashioned way to tie the score at 36-36 with 6:22 to play. Strowbridge knocked down a trey from the top of the key with just under five minutes remaining to get the lead back for JSU and Marshall's first bucket, a triple with 3:33 on the clock answered a pair of EIU buckets to give the Gamecocks a 42-41 advantage.

James Hollowell connected from the baseline to reclaim the lead for EIU and Laser pushed it to 46-42 with 2:25 to play. The two exchanged free throws before Murphy converted a three-point play of his own with 26 ticks on the clock to cut it to 47-46.

The Gamecocks were forced to foul Granger with 16 seconds left and he sank both ends of his one-and-one to push the Panthers back in front by three. Another Murphy lay in cut the deficit back to one. T.J. Marion made the back end of his two free throw with eight seconds left, but a Strowbridge drive came up short to allow the Panthers to escape with their seventh-straight win in the series.

The Gamecocks will travel to Cape Girardeau, Mo., where they will conclude their road trip on Monday with another OVC matchup with Southeast Missouri. The game is scheduled to tip at 7:45 p.m. CT, right after the JSU women face the Redhawks at 5:30 p.m. Both games will be broadcast live on the JSU Radio Network with Mike Parris calling the action.