A trip to the southwest paid off heavily for a surging Jacksonville State men’s basketball squad.
The Gamecocks took down New Mexico State with a 65-59 road win on Saturday, winning their fourth straight and moving into a tie for the Conference USA lead.
Jax State sits at 5-2 in the CUSA standings, tied with Middle Tennessee State and UTEP squads that holds the same record in league play.
One of the most narrow conference races in the nation, three other teams in CUSA are 4-3, while Louisiana Tech is 4-4 and Western Kentucky is 3-4.
The victory was the fourth straight for the Gamecocks, who scored a road win over UTEP two days before Saturday’s victory.
Taking a 29-29 tie into halftime, Jax State closed out the final 6:26 of the matchup outscoring the host Aggies 17-9.
Mason Nicholson posted a double-double for Jax State, scoring 12 points and adding 11 rebounds on a night that saw him go 5-for-6 from the field; it marked Nicholson’s fourth double-double of the year and the seventh time he scored in double figures.
Jaron Pierre Jr. led the Gamecocks with 20 points in the matchup, adding five rebounds in the victory for Jax State, while Quel’Ron House also scored in double figures with 11 points.
Michael Houge and Marcellus Brigham Jr. both added six rebounds each in the win for the Gamecocks.
Robert Carpenter scored a team-high 16 points for New Mexico State and Peter Filipovity had a double-double with 13 points and 17 rebounds for the Aggies.
Jax State (13-7, 5-2 CUSA) will host Florida International on Thursday.
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