House and Jacksonville State defeat Middle Tennessee 70-68 in Conference USA Tournament semifinals

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HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (AP) — Freshman Quel'Ron House led Jacksonville State with 20 points, including two free throws with 22 seconds remaining as the Gamecocks took down Middle Tennessee 70-68 on Friday in the Conference USA Tournament semifinals.

Jacksonville State will face Liberty in the championship game on Saturday.

House shot 6 for 10 (2 for 4 from 3-point range) and 6 of 6 from the free-throw line for the Gamecocks (22-11). Jaron Pierre Jr. scored 19 points, going 6 of 18 from the floor, including 2 for 8 from 3-point range, and 5 for 6 from the line. Marcellus Brigham Jr. shot 4 for 9, including 2 for 4 from beyond the arc to finish with 11 points, while adding nine rebounds.

Jlynn Counter led the Blue Raiders (22-11) in scoring, finishing with 18 points, eight rebounds, four assists and two steals. Middle Tennessee also got 13 points from Jestin Porter. Essam Mostafa also put up 12 points.

Jacksonville State went into halftime tied with Middle Tennessee 35-35. House scored nine points in the half. Pierre scored 14 points in the second half.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.