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Men's Basketball

Second Half Surge Guides JSU to 85-67 Win Over Tigers

BOX SCORE   |   PHOTO GALLERY

JACKSONVILLE – The Jacksonville State basketball team used an impressive second half to run away with an 85-67 home win over Tennessee State in front of a national television audience.

The Gamecocks (8-10, 4-4 Ohio Valley Conference) shot 57 percent from the floor in the final 20 minutes to erase a three-point halftime deficit and pull off back-to-back wins for the first time since December. They forced the Tigers (4-16, 1-7 OVC) into 13 of their 20 turnovers in the second half and handed them their eighth loss in nine games and their second in a row on ESPNU.

Junior Nick Murphy led all scorers with 23 points and grabbed 12 boards to notch his fourth double-double of the season. His 10-for-14 effort from the floor secured the Bronx, N.Y., native's second-straight 20-point night after dropping 22 at UT Martin on Saturday.

Fellow junior Trenton Marshall also had a big night in the book, pouring in 21 points and falling one rebound short of a double-double of his own. The Garyville, La., native also dished five assists and swiped three steals in helping his Gamecocks back to the .500 mark in OVC play. The duo's night marked the first time two JSU players have surpassed the 20-point plateau since the same pair did it against Reinhardt on Dec. 12.

Sophomore Dominique Shellman did his job to set up the Gamecock offense, dishing a career-best 10 assists, the most by a Gamecock since Jan. 7 of last year, when Jonathan Toles tossed 11 against Eastern Kentucky. Shellman, a Memphis, Tenn., native, also scored seven points and picked up three steals. Sophomore Stephen Hall wrapped up a trio of Gamecocks with double figures in the scoring column with 12, thanks to a 5-for-6 night from the floor.

JSU turned the tempo against the up-tempo Tigers, collecting 27 fast-break points, while dominating the points in the paint to the tune of a 50-32 advantage. The Gamecocks also won the battle on the boards, 40-32, thanks to an eight-rebound advantage in the second half alone.

The Tigers got 17 points and nine rebounds from Darius Cox, while Robert Covington and Josh Sain added 11 and 10 points, respectively.

The two kept the game close for much of the first half, exchanging the lead twice before a late TSU run built an eight-point advantage with 3:30 remaining before intermission. That would be the largest lead of the night for the visitors, who let JSU creep to within three, 35-32 at the half.

The Tigers scored the first bucket of the second half to stretch the lead to six, but the Gamecocks went on a 25-9 run from that point, one that saw Marshall score nine points and Murphy add seven, to give them a 57-48 lead with 12:32 to play. Murphy answered a Martell Buie layup with a pair of free throws to put JSU back up nine, the closest the Tigers would get the rest of the way.

The last time TSU pulled as close as nine was at 74-65 with 4:32 remaining, only to watch the Gamecocks score the next 11 to take their largest lead of the night, an 85-65 advantage with 1:56 to play.

The Gamecocks will continue their four-game homestand on Saturday, when Austin Peay comes calling for a 4:30 p.m. tip. The game will be the second in the stretch of home games for the Gamecocks and will be the back end of a doubleheader with the women's teams, who tip at 2 p.m.
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