First Coast college basketball roundup: Jacksonville, North Florida rebound to win at home

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Jacksonville University and the University of North Florida men’s basketball teams both had bounce-back victories on Saturday and the momentum could be important, since they have one “buy game” left on their schedule this week.

The Dolphins (6-5) rallied from an 85-63 loss at Florida Atlantic on Dec. 10 to beat former ASUN member East Tennessee 60-52 at Swisher Gym. UNF (7-4) had only one game last week, topping UNC-Greensboro at UNF Arena 89-77, a week after losing an overtime game at Georgia Southern.

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JU is off until Dec. 21, when it travels to Orlando to face UCF. UNF is on the road twice this week, playing at UNC-Asheville on Tuesday and at ninth-ranked Florida (10-0) at Saturday, a Noon tipoff that will be aired on the SEC Network.

UNF will have payback on their minds at Asheville. The Ospreys lost to the Bulldogs 89-75 at home on Nov. 18

Jacksonville University forward Stephone Payne III (center) prepares to block out Florida Atlantic players Kaleb Glenn (1) and Tre Carroll (12) during a game at FAU on Dec. 10. The Owls defeated the Dolphins 85-63

Jacksonville junior guard Robert McCray V scored 22 points against East Tennessee but he was a beast on defense, blocking four shots and making five steals, contributing mightily to holding ETSU to 33.9 percent shooting.

Senior forward Zimi Nwokeji added 15 points made made 4 of 5 3-pointers for JU.

FAU outscored the Dolphins 13-3 at one point in the early stages of the second half to pull away from a three-point margin. JU shot only 30.9 percent and McCray was held to eight points on 2 of 11 shooting. Freshman guard Chris Arias, a Providence graduate, led the Dolphins with 15 points off the bench.

University of North Florida guard Jaylen Smith shoots against UNC-Greensboro on Dec. 14 during the Ospreys 89-77 victory at UNF Arena.

The Ospreys outscored UNC-Greensboro 21-4 off turnovers and five players were in double figures. Sophomore guard…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/first-coast-college-basketball-roundup-050512523.html

Author : The Florida Times-Union

Publish date : 2024-12-15 05:05:00

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