Jeremy Bynum had 18 points and Nick Murphy had 17 points and nine rebounds, leading Jacksonville State to a 79-58 win over West Alabama on Saturday night.
Brian Williams added 11 points off the bench for the Gamecocks (1-0), who led 45-29 at halftime. They began the second half with a 9-4 run to go up 54-33 and expanded their lead to as many as 24 points. The Tigers (1-1) never got closer than 14 points in the second half.
The Gamecocks have won five in a row in the series with their former Division II rival, and have won 15 straight at home, where they hold a 43-10 series advantage.
Ryan Fitch, Jonathan Griffin and Alquan Mendenhall scored 12 points each for the Tigers.
Stephen Hall also had nine rebounds for the Gamecocks, who held a 48-24 advantage on the boards, and had 21 offensive rebounds to only six for West Alabama.
