BOX SCORE

JACKSONVILLE – Junior Trenton Marshall scored 25 points and the Jacksonville State men's basketball team used a stifling defensive effort on Saturday afternoon to hand Eastern Illinois a 70-55 defeat at Pete Mathews Coliseum.

The Gamecocks (10-11, 6-5 Ohio Valley Conference) held the Panthers (11-11, 5-7 OVC) to just five field goals and a .200 shooting percentage in the second half, including a 1-for-17 clip over the final 11:30. The win gives JSU four in its last five games and finishes a four-game homestand for the Gamecocks with a 3-1 record and puts them above the .500 mark in conference play for the first time since Jan. 2.

Marshall, a 6-foot-5 native of Garyville, La., was 7-for-13 from the floor, including a 6-for-11 night from behind the 3-point line to lead all scorers. He was also 5-for-6 from the free throw line and led the Gamecocks with six rebounds while blocking a shot and swiping a steal. He scored 14 points in the second half to pace a group of four JSU players in double figures.

Junior Nick Murphy used an 8-for-12 night from the free throw line and a 3-for-4 outing from the floor to account for his 14 points. Junior Jeremy Bynum was 2-for-6 from the floor but knocked down all six of his free throw shots to put in 11 points. Sophomore Stephen Hall was 5-for-8 from the field to score 10 and led the Gamecocks to a season-best 10 blocks with three of his own.

Sophomore Dominique Shellman scored seven points and dished six assists in the win, his fifth-straight game with at least six assists. A Memphis, Tenn., native, Shellman blocked two shots on the perimeter.

EIU turned to leading scorer Tyler Laser, who scored 20 points before fouling out with five minutes remaining. He hit four 3-pointers in the game, one of which came at the 7:08 mark of the second half and was EIU's only bucket of the final 11:30 of the game.

Curry McKinney added 13 points for the Panthers, while Ousmane Cisse's eight rebounds led them to a 37-28 advantage on the glass.

The Gamecocks shot 47 percent from the floor and 47 percent from behind the arc on the night, while holding EIU to a 32 percent shooting percentage. The Panthers did go 6-for-11 from behind the arc and connected on 17-of-21 free throws.

JSU stormed out of the gates with 14 unanswered that built a 14-2 lead in the game's first five minutes, only to watch the Panthers storm back with an 18-4 run that gave them a 20-18 lead with 8:25 on the clock. The Gamecocks scored the next four points to reclaim the lead and never trailed again. EIU would battle to tie the score three more times before a Bynum trey sent JSU into the locker room with a 32-29 lead at the half.

The Gamecocks inched back to an eight-point advantage over the first seven minutes of the second half, but EIU clawed back again to pull to within one with 10:09 to play. The Gamecocks defense turned it up a notch the rest of the way, holding EIU to just Laser's final 3-pointer.

JSU went to the line 19 times in the final 10 minutes and connected on 14 of them to put the game away. The Gamecocks led by as many as 17 in the final minute before a pair of T.J. Marion free throws cut the score to the deciding 70-55 JSU advantage.

The Gamecocks will now take to the road, where they will play three OVC games in a span of five days next week. The trek begins on Tuesday with a 7:30 p.m. game at Tennessee State in Nashville, Tenn. JSU will then head to Morehead State on Thursday before rounding out the trip on Saturday at Eastern Kentucky.