Jacksonville St. 82, SE Missouri State 72

JACKSONVILLE, Ala. (AP) -- Walker Russell led five Gamecocks in double figures Wednesday night, scoring 20 points and posting 10 assists in Jacksonville State's 82-72 victory over Southeast Missouri.

The win extends the Gamecock's (5-4, 3-1 Ohio Valley Conference) best conference start since joining the league three seasons ago. Jacksonville State has now won three of four matches against the Redhawks (4-6, 1-4 OVC).

"This was a really big win for our team," JSU head coach Mike LaPlante said. "For our guys to come back after the loss on Thursday and play the game they did tonight says a lot about this team. Being 3-1 heading into Christmas puts us in pretty good position for the league race."

The Redhawks took control early with a five-point lead, which they held three times before the Gamecocks surged ahead on a 10-0 run.

SE Missouri cut the lead to three, but Jacksonville State stretched it back to 16 and led 44-30 at the half.

B.J. Spencer scored 19 points and Harold Crowe followed with a career-high 15 points, while Courtney Bradley and Dorien Brown each added 10 for Jacksonville State.

Roy Booker led SE Missouri with 23 points while Eric Burtin and Waylon Francis each scored 11 and Andrais Thornton added 10.