Lynchburg, VA – Jax State’s football team surpassed expectations in its inaugural CUSA season. The Gamecocks basketball team has gone 2 for 2 in CUSA play following their win over the its co-favorite from the preseason Liberty.
Jax State’s football squad surpassed expectations in its inaugural Conference USA season, and the basketball team of the men’s is taking inspiration from the team.
The Gamecocks took their sixth win in a row on Wednesday. They increased their record to 2-1 in CUSA by beating 61-51 at Liberty.
The Gamecocks (10-7) recorded a 10-point win as an underdog by double digits to Flames Flames (11-6, 1-1 CUSA).
The league’s nine coaches chose Liberty along with Middle Tennessee as preseason co-favorites. They chose Jax State last.
The Jax State football team ranked seventh for its first season in the Football Bowl Subdivision and CUSA however, they won nine games including the first time that the school has ever played in an FBS bowl.
A couple of years back, the men’s Jax State basketball team ended Liberty’s winning streak of 45 games at home in the battle against ASUN Conference foes. On Wednesday Jax State became the first team visiting to score multiple road wins in Liberty’s newly constructed arena, which was opened in 2020.
Jax State led 26-21 at the half, despite the leading scorer in the league, KyKy Tandy, being limited to just two points. Tandy scored 14 points for the team, which was good enough to lead four Gamecocks who scored double figures.
Andres Burney was just one point short of a record-setting 12 points in his career. He was and was followed by Juwan Perdue, who scored 11, as well as Marcellus Brigham Jr. with 10.
The Gamecocks dominated for more than 26 minutes however, not until the hosts Flames started off on a roaring beginning. Jax State trailed 14-8 midway into the opening half, but then it was Burney. Brigham, Quincy Clark and Caleb Johnson strung together a 12-0 streak over the next six minutes.
Liberty made two of its total nine 3-pointers, bringing it back to by two points, before heading into the break in a five-point deficit.
Jax State carried its momentum throughout the second half by extending the margin to nine points thanks to Perdue’s trey only moments into the period.
Tandy began to get hot with two deep shots to increase his Gamecocks’ advantage up to double-digits in the very first game. at 40-29 with just 12:10 remaining in the clock.
In the 12th position with less than five minutes left, Liberty began a charge which saw the deficit shrink by 57-51, with just 45 seconds remaining. Clark and Perdue completed four free shots to secure the win.
The Gamecocks went with a record of 14-for-15 and they turned the ball over two more times than Flamers and also won the rebounding game 38-30.
Jax State turns its attention towards a second road battle in the form of a visit to Western Kentucky in Saturday afternoon’s game on CBS Sports Network.
