South Alabama held on in the second half for a 76-74 victory over Jacksonville State on Saturday at the Mitchell Center.

The Jaguars (6-3) built a 39-30 halftime lead before the Gamecocks (5-4) stormed back to go up by as many as five in the second half. Jax State led 67-63 with 4:51 to play before South Alabama scored seven straight points to take the lead again for good.

JJ Wheat scored 12 points off the bench for South Alabama, including five free throws in the final 2:14. Myles Corey added 12 points and six assists, while Barry Dunning added 11 points and a team-high seven rebounds and Jayden Cooper chipped in 10 points.

Jao Ituka scored a game-high 22 points — including five 3-pointers — for Jax State, while Michael Hogue added 17 points and eight rebounds. Jarren Pierre scored 13 points and passed out six assists before fouling out in the final minute.

South Alabama totaled 11 steals as a team, while committing just six turnovers. Jax State turned the ball over 18 times, 13 times in the first half.

South Alabama travels to Texas A&M-Commerce next Sunday. Jax State hosts Utah Valley on Saturday.