Box Score

JACKSONVILLE, Ala. – Eastern Kentucky led by seven with 1:31 left in the game, but Jacksonville State scored 10 unanswered to escape with a 71-67 victory on Thursday.
 
Two free throws by Corey Walden capped an 8-0 run by the visitors and put the Colonels on top 66-59 with 1:31 left in the game.
 
Darion Rackley hit two free throws to begin the JSU run.  He then got a steal and hit a three-pointer to make it a two-point game, 66-64, with 1:16 remaining.  Jamal Hunter tied it on a lay-up with 47.7 seconds on the clock.  His ensuing free throw put the Gamecocks on top 67-66, a lead they would never relinquish.
 
Eastern missed a shot on its end before Hunter hit two more free throws to finish off the run and stretch the margin to three, 69-66.  Ja'Mill Powell hit the second of two free throw attempts to keep EKU within one possession with 10.8 seconds left to play.  The Colonels couldn't get a steal and Jax State made two more free throws to set the final margin.
 
Timmy Knipp and Eric Stutz each finished with 16 points to lead Eastern Kentucky (11-7, 3-2 OVC).  Knipp made 6-of-10 from the field, including 4-of-6 from long range.  Stutz had eight rebounds and four assists.  Walden scored seven of his 10 points during the run that gave his team a seven-point lead with less than two minutes to play.  The senior had seven assists and three steals.
 
Rackley led all players with 25 points, going 8-for-15 from the field and 8-for-8 at the free throw line.  Hunter finished with 14 points.
 
The Colonels turned the ball over 17 times, six more than their season average.  The Gamecocks (9-12, 2-5 OVC) turned those turnovers into 19 points.
 
EKU shot 48 percent from the field while Jacksonville State hit on 50 percent.
 
Eastern finishes up its two-game road trip on Saturday at Tennessee Tech.  Tip-off in Cookeville is set for 8:30 p.m. ET.
 
NOTES
This week marks the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) and the American Cancer Society's Suits and Sneakers Awareness Week.  The coaching staffs on both benches wore sneakers with their suits to help raise awareness for the fight against cancer.
 
Corey Walden passed former Colonel Mike Rose and moved into fourth place on EKU's all-time steals list.  Corey Walden now needs 36 more steals to break the EKU career record of 221.
 
Eastern Kentucky had held eight of its last nine opponents to fewer than 70 points.
 
Corey Walden began the day as the only player in the OVC ranked in the top-10 in scoring (2nd), field goal percentage (8th), assists (9th) and steals (1st).  He finished with 10 points on 3-of-9 shooting, seven assists and three steals.
 
Jacksonville State entered the game 10th in the OVC in scoring (62.6 ppg).
 
Eastern Kentucky entered the game second in the nation in turnover margin (+9.4) and fourth in steals (10.4 spg).  The Colonels turned it over two more times than Jax State and had six steals.
 
EKU leads the all-time series with Jacksonville State 15-8.  The Colonels had won eight straight against the Gamecocks.  Eastern is now 5-8 all-time in Jacksonville.