Another postseason appearance for Jacksonville State’s men ended in the second round of the National Invitation Tournament on Sunday night.

The Gamecocks ended their season with a 66-61 loss to No. 1-seeded UC Irvine in the second round of the NIT in Irvine, Calif.

Jax State will end its season at 23-13 overall after following its fourth postseason appearance in nine seasons and first since the 2022 NCAA tournament.

The Gamecocks dominated No. 4-seeded Georgia Tech 81-64 in the first round of the NIT on Wednesday.

After taking a 55-53 lead with 6:15 left to play on a pair of made free throws from Koree Cotton, Jax State only made one field goal for the rest of the game on a 3-pointer from Jaron Pierre Jr. with 4:00 left to play.

UC Irvine closed out the game on a 13-6 run.

Jaron Pierre Jr. led Jax State with a double-double, totaling 15 points and 11 rebounds in the final game of a season that saw him earn Conference USA Player of the Year honors; he also led the team with 4 assists.

Marcellus Brigham Jr. also paced the Gamecocks with 14 points on offense, with 11 coming in the first half of his 5-for-10 night from the field. Freshman Quel’Ron House also scored in double figures, finishing with 10 points and 5 rebounds.

Justin Hohn paced UC Irvine’s offense with 22 points, going 7-for-15 from the field and 4-for-9 from beyond the arc; he was one of three players in double figures.

The Anteaters will host another opponent from Alabama in the next round of the NIT as UAB beat Santa Clara 88-84 in its second-round matchup.