JSU men: Strong finish to first half lifts Gamecocks over Little Rock
Dec. 17—JACKSONVILLE — A strong finish to the first half was the difference Saturday in Jacksonville State's 72-62 win over Little Rock at Pete Mathews Coliseum.
After Jordan Jefferson's jumper gave Little Rock a 23-21 lead with 5:55 remaining in the opening 20 minutes, the Gamecocks clamped down on defense and their shots finally started falling.
After Juwan Perdue tied the game with a layup, two free throws from Skyelar Potter gave JSU a lead it would never relinquish. Demaree King scored five straight points, and the Gamecocks closed the half on a 9-0 run and headed to the locker room with a 30-23 advantage.
JSU head coach Ray Harper called the run "really important."
"We came back and kind of got it back under control and finished out the half," he said.
The run was also important because the Gamecocks didn't shoot it well from 3-point range early. JSU (6-5) entered the day second in the nation in 3-point field goal percentage at 43.43 percent, but the Gamecocks missed their first nine shots from beyond the arc. King finally got one to go down with 1:05 to play in the first half.
King, who set a career high with 32 points in last season's meeting with Little Rock, struggled a bit with his shot Saturday. He finished with just eight points, making just 3 of 12 shots from the field and 2 of 7 from 3-point range.
Potter picked up the slack, however, finishing with a game-high 24 points and six rebounds. He wasn't the only Gamecock who stood out to Harper, who was pleased with the play of two of his youngest players.
True freshman Travis Roberts started his third game of the season and made an impact Saturday. He finished with six points, six rebounds, two assists and a team-high three steals in 22:13 minutes of action.
"I was really impressed with Travis Roberts. I thought Travis was really good," Harper said. "His minutes were good. He rebounded the ball. I thought he fought through things on the defensive end for us.
"He's really taken a step forward here, which we thought we would as a freshman."
Redshirt freshman JJ Platt saw extended playing time late in the second half after King found himself in foul trouble. He made 5 of 6 free throws and finished with seven points and two assists in the second half.
"I thought he was good," Harper said. "Demaree gets his fourth foul with nine minutes to go in the game, so he basically closed it out for us those last nine minutes at the point and did a great job."
What to know
—Perdue was the only other Gamecock in double figures. He finished with 11 points and led the team with seven rebounds.
—Playing in front of his parents for the first time in his JSU career, Maros Zeliznak finished with seven points and four rebounds.
— JSU was better from 3-point range in the second half, making 4 of 10 shots. For the game, the Gamecocks made just 5 of 21 shots (23.8 percent) from distance.
—JSU spent a lot of time at the free throw line in the second half. The Gamecocks kept Little Rock at bay by making 12 of 15 shots from the charity stripe.
Who said
—Harper on JSU's second-half free throw shooting: "It's how you close teams out and win games. We should be a good free throw shooting team. We've had some games where we did not shoot it well, but overall, I think this team should be a good free throw shooting team."
Next up
—The Gamecocks will travel to South Alabama on Wednesday for a 1 p.m. tip. JSU will close out its non-conference schedule Dec. 27 when it hosts Georgia Southwestern at 6 p.m.
Assistant Sports Editor Jared Gravette: 256-235-3572. On Twitter: @Jared_Gravette.
