East Central Alabama News

Jacksonville State made it three-straight wins over former Ohio Valley Conference foe Austin Peay on Saturday when the Gamecocks dropped the visiting Govs, 70-53.
 
The Gamecocks (10-13, 3-7 ASUN) shot better than 50 percent from the field for the third game in a row while leading APSU (8-15, 2-8 ASUN) for more than 30 minutes on Saturday. The win pulls JSU right back to the cutline for making the 10-team conference tournament just as the calendar flips to February.
 
Senior Demaree King opened up the scoring with a three-pointer just 10 seconds into the game on his way to a team-high 15 points. The Gamecock offense was as balanced as it has been all season with three in double figures and six players overall with seven-or-more points. Maros Zeliznak finished with a season-high 12 points and five rebounds on a day where the senior from Kosice, Slovakia, tied Malcolm Drumwright (2014-18) with his 125th game played for Jax State, matching the program's all-time mark for career appearances.
 
The Govs strung together a 10-0 run early to lead 13-9 almost midway into the first half. The Gamecocks moved back ahead, 17-16, on King's second triple of the day. The Tulsa, Okla., native, drained three treys total, moving him three shy of 200 for his career.
 
A three by Peyton Daniels sparked a 9-0 Gamecock run that propelled JSU to a 34-26 halftime lead. The margin reached double digits early in the second stanza, where it remained for almost all of the final 20 minutes. With 7:27 remaining, a jumper from APSU briefly got it down to seven, but JSU quickly surge back out by more than a dozen en route to closing out the 70-53 decision.
 
JSU looks to carry its momentum on the road next weekend when it travels to Eastern Kentucky and Bellarmine. 

Original source can be found here.