CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – A 27-point performance from senior Malcolm Drumwright lifted the Jacksonville State men’s basketball team to a 77-75 overtime win over Chattanooga Tuesday night at McKenzie Arena.
The OT victory was the Gamecocks’ first since downing Georgia State 80-74 in two overtimes on Nov. 22, 2008 (a span of 272 games), and was the first win over UTC since Feb. 22, 1975. Among the historical milestones achieved, Jacksonville State claimed the Cayman Islands Classic – Chattanooga Bracket championship with the win.
JSU and UTC went to overtime tied 70-70 following a three-pointer hit by Chattanooga’s Rodney Chatman with eight seconds to go in regulation. With 1:42 left on the clock in the five-minute overtime period, Makinde London hit a free throw to put the Mocs up by an OT-best three points, but the 6-foot-10 junior missed the second free throw and Jason Burnell made Chattanooga pay. Sixteen seconds later, the JSU junior hit a big three-pointer to tie the game at 75 with 1:26 to go.
Junior Marlon Hunter delivered the final blow on a layup with 32 seconds to go. The Gamecocks’ defense then stole the ball away and forced an errant three-pointer as time expired.
Drumwright scored 25 of his 27 points following the conclusion of the first half. The senior played a whopping 44 minutes, was 11-for-22 from the floor and hit four of seven three-pointers taken.
“We had no shot without Drumwright tonight,” head coach Ray Harper said. “He had a great summer, and we expect him to have a good senior year. We just put it in his hands tonight.”
Jacksonville State and Chattanooga looked very similar in the first half. Both teams shot 50% from the floor and were 75% from the free-throw line, leading to a narrow 33-31 Gamecock advantage at the half.
Jamall Gregory led JSU scorers with 10 points in the first period, scoring five within the first two minutes of play. The junior then hit three consecutive foul shots to help the Gamecocks to a half-best five-point lead.
Chattanooga battled back from the five-point deficit and took a brief lead, but a nine-point run, fueled by a Burnell jumper and three-pointer, erased the Mocs’ advantage and put the Gamecocks back up by five, 24-19, with less than seven minutes to go in the period.
JSU held onto the lead until the 16:21 mark of the second half when a London trey put UTC ahead 42-41 – the Mocs’ first lead since 9:40 in the first. The lead changed hands seven more times before the end of regulation.
Gregory and Burnell each ended the night with 10 points, while senior Norbertas Giga followed tallied 11 points and a team-high 13 rebounds.
“We were scrambling for ways to score the basketball,” Harper said. “Chattanooga was physical and getting us off our cuts. We have to go home, get better in the half court and get ready forSunday.”
The Gamecocks travel to Starkville, Miss., Sunday, Nov. 26 to take on Mississippi State at 2 p.m. JSU returns home Nov. 30 to take on Alabama State at 7 p.m. at Pete Mathews Coliseum.
Tickets are now available for purchase online at JSUGamecocksTickets.com, by phone at (256) 782-8499 and on campus at the JSU Ticket Office at Kennamer Hall. Children 18-years-old and under and JSU students are admitted free.