Jacksonville State’s men fall to UC Irvine in second round of NIT
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.