"We spent this week working on some things we needed to become better in," Head Coach Lewis Jackson said.  "We did some good things last week in Utah, but it is still early in the season and we were very inconsistent."
 
"We rebounded pretty well but we didn't defend very well and we wound up giving up too many points.  We have to get better on defense if we expect to win many more games."
 
JSU (5-3) lost their first three games of the season but come into Montgomery riding a five-game winning streak.  They had an impressive 79-76 overtime win over Winthrop Wednesday night.
 
"JSU comes in here really playing well," Jackson said.  "They are playing well in the paint, but it all starts at the guard positions where they get their offense started."
 
Guards Darion Rackley (12.7) and Avery Moore (10.1) are both seniors and lead the Gamecocks in scoring.  JSU is also a strong rebounding team as four players are averaging over six rebounds per game.  JaQuail Townser leads the team averaging 9.8 while D.J. Felder (7.8), Jeremy Watson (7.8) and Jamal Hunter (6.6) all hit the boards hard.
 
For the Hornets (2-3), DeMarcus Robinson leads the team in scoring at 15 points per game.  Jamel Waters is coming off a week which saw him named the SWAC Player of the Week after his performance in Utah.  In those three games he averaged 16 points, four rebounds and 5.8 assists per game.  For the season he is averaging 13 points and 6.2 rebounds per game.
 
Bobby Brown continues to be solid at 11.4 points and six rebounds per game.  Maurice Strong leads the team in rebounding averaging 6.2 rebounds to go along with his 7.2 points per game.
 
ASU is getting strong production in the paint.  Along with Strong, Luther Page has had the best start of his career.  He is averaging 9.2 points and 5.8 rebounds per game and leads ASU shooting 61 percent from the field.  Newcomer Wendell Lewis is beginning to round into shape.  He enters the game averaging nine points and 5.2 rebounds per game.
 
The two teams have met nine times on the hard court with JSU holding a 6-3 advantage.  Last season ASU traveled to Jacksonville where they defeated the Gamecocks 84-73.
 
Live stats for the game can be watched on bamastatesports.com.