ATLANTA — Jacksonville State University made history Tuesday night night with a statement 81-64 victory over Georgia Tech in the first round of the National Invitation Tournament (NIT). This win marks the first NIT victory in the school's history and the 600th career win for head coach Ray Harper.

"I was asked by ESPN today what they need to know about this team. I said, you need to know that they'll compete," said coach Ray Harper who picked up his 600th career victory. "I don't know the outcome, but we will compete. And I think they showed that tonight. "They've shown it all year, so it's not bad when you can always feel like you got the best player on the floor to run."

Marcellus Brigham Jr. contributed significantly to the Gamecocks' success, scoring 16 points, including a crucial three-pointer that extended their lead to 38-25 in the first half. Jaron Pierre Jr., the Conference USA Player of the Year, led the team with 30 points. The Gamecocks shot an impressive 52 percent from the field and made 15 three-pointers.

"I thought we took good shots," said Harper. "We hit a little bit of a funk late in the year, if you looked at our stat sheets and watched film, our assist numbers were low and because of it, we were having to take some difficult shots, but tonight I thought we did a great job getting paint touches."

Jao Ituka added 14 points, and together with Brigham and Pierre, the trio accounted for 13 of the Gamecocks' 15 three-pointers.

Jax State will continue in the tournament's round of 16 against the winner of UC Irvine and Northern Colorado which play Wednesday night.