Alfred Jones scored 14 points, Zach Bailey added 13 and Kevin Murphy had 12 as Tennessee Tech held on to beat Jacksonville State 64-62 in the Ohio Valley Conference opener for both teams on Saturday night.
The Golden Eagles shot 10 for 22 from the floor (45.5 percent) in the opening half, but trailed 28-25 at the break. Tennessee Tech continued its hot shooting in the second, hitting 15 of 22 shots (68.2 percent) and outscoring the Gamecocks 24-12 in the paint.
Tennessee Tech led 63-62 with 13 seconds left to play before Kevin Murphy knocked down a free throw to extend the lead to 64-62.
A missed 3-pointer by the Gamecocks' B.J. Miller with 3 seconds left sealed the win for Tennessee Tech (2-3).
Jeremy Bynum scored a game-high 21 points, Nick Murphy added 19 and Stephen Hall 17 for the Gamecocks (2-7).
