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Jacksonville State held UT-Martin to 35.2 percent shooting and won Saturday night's Ohio Valley Conference championship game 66-55 in Nashville, Tenn., to claim the first automatic berth in this year's men's NCAA tournament. And it's the first Division I tournament appearance in school history. The Gamecocks (20-14), the No. 4 seed, were led by senior guard Erik Durham's 17 points, defeating the second-seeded Skyhawks T after upsetting top-seeded Belmont in the semifinals. This was also the first time that Jax State won the OVC tournament title. The school joined the league beginning with the 2003-04 season. The program's only previous 20-win season since joining Division I in 1995 came in 2002-03 (20-10). Jacksonville State is in its first season under coach Ray Harper. He twice took Western Kentucky to the NCAA tournament during his five seasons coaching the Hilltoppers. Joe Lunardi anticipates the new OVC tournament champion being a No. 13 seed when the field is announced on March 12. Jacksonville State's football team reached the FCS championship game following the 2015 season, losing to North Dakota State and Carson Wentz 37-10.
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