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JACKSONVILLE, Ala. – Host Jacksonville State shot 55 percent from the field on the way to defeating the Eastern Kentucky University men’s basketball team Thursday night, 68-65. The Gamecocks (6-8, 2-2 OVC) have now defeated the Colonels (10-6, 3-2) five straight times in Pete Mathews Coliseum.

Jacksonville State quickly jumped on top of the visiting Colonels, scoring the first 11 points of the game. Junior Justin Stommes netted EKU’s first bucket with 13:33 remaining in the opening stanza.

The Gamecocks stretched their lead to a game-high 12 points, 27-15, thanks to two Stephen Hall free throws with 6:04 on the clock. Eastern rallied before halftime, scoring 12 of the final 16 points, to cut the deficit to four points, 31-27.

EKU continued to claw back early in the second half and took its first lead of the game, 32-31, following an old-fashioned three-point play from Stommes. From there, the two teams exchanged the lead four times before senior Papa Oppong’s lone three-pointer gave Eastern Kentucky a four-point cushion, 39-35.

The Colonels extended the lead to six, 45-39, following freshman Willie Cruz’s lay-in, only to see Jacksonville State respond with six consecutive points to level the game at 45-all.

However, three-pointers from Stommes and sophomore Joshua Jones helped put Eastern Kentucky back up by six points with 7:44 left, 54-48. The Colonels twice had chances to extend the lead to eight or nine points, but turned the ball over and then missed a wide open three-point attempt.

From there, JSU’s John Barnes netted his only three-pointer to bring the Gamecocks to within three points, 54-51. A few minutes later, Trenton Marshall gave Jacksonville State the lead for good, 57-56. The Colonels went cold down the stretch, missing seven straight shots from the field over a six-minute span, allowing Jacksonville State to go on a 13-2 run to make the score 61-56 with 2:14 left.

The Gamecocks held off Eastern in the waning minutes by hitting 5-of-6 (83.3 percent) free throws.

Stommes paced the Colonels with 20 points and four assists. Junior Spencer Perrin added 15 points and five rebounds. Eastern had its second lowest three-point shooting night of the season, connecting on just 6-of-26 (23.1 percent) from behind the arc.

Hall and Marshall combined for 35 points for Jacksonville State to help the Gamecocks break a four-game losing streak. JSU converted 21-of-26 (80.8 percent) free throw attempts while the Colonels attempted only eight free throws all night.

The Colonels will try to salvage a split of the weekend road trip Saturday, Jan. 9 at Tennessee Tech. Game time is set for 8:30 p.m.