FINAL STATS

JACKSONVILLE – The Jacksonville State men's basketball team jumped on West Alabama early on Saturday night and never looked back, taking a 79-58 win in its season opener at Pete Mathews Coliseum.

The Gamecocks (1-0) started their season with a win over the Tigers (1-1) for the second-straight year and did so by controlling the glass from start to finish. They grabbed 14 of the game's first 17 rebounds to jump out to an early 15-point lead and never let UWA back in it. The win was the 70th in 99 meetings in the second-most played rivalry in JSU's history.

“In a game like this, I thought we started it right and gave ourselves an opportunity to do the things we wanted to do,” JSU head coach James Green said. “We were able to force some turnovers and get some things done that way, and any time you outrebound a team by 24 you are going to put yourself in good position.”

Jax State ended the night with a 48-24 advantage on the boards, thanks to 21 offensive rebounds that led to 21 second-chance points. The Gamecocks forced 19 turnovers and turned them into 26 points but allowed the Tigers to convert 20 turnovers into 21 points.

Seniors Jeremy Bynum and Nick Murphy led all scorers with 18 and 17 points, respectively, while freshman Brian Williams put in 11 off of the bench in his collegiate debut. Bynum, a native of Oxford, Ala., scored nine of JSU's first 11 points in the game and 16 of his 18 in the first half. The school's career 3-pointers made leader in Division I was 4-for-5 from behind the arc.

Murphy, a native of Bronx, N.Y., was a rebound shy of a double-double, getting six of his nine boards on the offensive glass. He was 6-for-12 from the floor and 4-for-5 from the charity stripe. Murphy also dished four assists and picked up a pair of steals.

Williams was 5-for-8 shooting to account for his offensive output. Junior Stephen Hall added nine rebounds of his own for the Gamecocks, five on offense and four on defense.

Also in their JSU debuts, junior Leventrice Gray grabbed seven boards and Nick Cook pitched in seven points.

The Tigers got 12 points apiece from Ryan Fitch, Jonathan Griffin and Alquan Mendenhall.

JSU will take to the road for a pair of games next week, starting with a Tuesday date at Norfolk State in Norfolk, Va. The game is set to tip at 6 p.m. CT and will be carried live on the JSU Radio Network. The Gamecocks will conclude the road trip on Thursday at VMI in Lexington, Va.