JACKSONVILLE SPORTS NEWS

MEN'S COLLEGE BASKETBALL: Atlanta duo leads JU past Kenensaw State, 66-50

KENNESAW, Ga. - Aloys Cabell and Delwan Graham return to their old stomping grounds on Saturday and led the Jacksonville men's basketball to its second straight win, a 66-50 win over Kennesaw State.

Graham had a game-high and career-best 19 points while Cabell added 16 points as the Dolphins (4-15, 2-6 A-Sun) took control early and never released the lead they gained in the opening minutes thanks to the Atlanta natives.

Graham had 11 points in the first half, the fourth time this season he has scored in double figures in a half. He finished the game by hitting 7-of-9 from the floor to go along with a game-high 12 rebounds for his second straight double-double. Cabell answered Graham in the second half with 10 of his points coming late in the game.

"We started making shot early and that gave us a lot of energy," said JU head coach Cliff Warren. "We played with a lot of intensity on both ends and were fortunate enough to get a win."

Jacksonville owned a 13-rebound advantage and scored 19 second chance points to go with 32 points in the paint. The Dolphins defense held KSU to just one 3-pointer and forced 17 turnovers, cashing them in for 21 points.

Sporting a 10-point lead early in the half, JU pushed the lead to 22 midway through the half and saw KSU make a run to cut it to 14, but were never in danger of relinquishing the lead.

Kennesaw State (3-17, 0-8 A-Sun) was led by Aaron Anderson's 17 points and 11 rebounds. Markeith Cummings added 16 points.

Aloys Cabell's 3-pointer at the buzzer ended a five-point spurt to give JU a 30-20 lead at the half, ending a KSU rally that had cut the lead to five. JU trailed 2-0, took the lead on a Tevin Galvin 3-pointer with 18:30 left in the first half and never trailed again.

The Dolphins wrap up their tour of Georgia on Monday night when they face Mercer at 7 p.m.

MEN'S COLLEGE BASKETBALL: UNF Ospreys corral Bisons, 82-61

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Four players reached double digits for the North Florida basketball team led by 20 from Parker Smith as the Ospreys posted an impressive 82-61 victory Wednesday night over Atlantic Sun foe Lipscomb at UNF Arena.

UNF (8-8, 2-1 ASun) blistered the nets at a 59.6 percent clip and connected on eight three-pointers including Smith's 5-for-5 performance from long distance to earn the win over the Bison (7-9, 2-2).

Joining Smith in double figures were Jimmy Williams with 15, 12 for Charles McRoy and 10 by Travis Wallace. The Ospreys also out-rebounded Lipscomb, 37-28, and handed out 18 assists on the night led by five from Wallace.

Jordan Burgason finished with 19 points to pace the Bison attack.

WOMEN'S COLLEGE BASKETBALL: UNF bounces back with 77-67 win over Lipscomb

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Seven first-half treys and three players in double digits powered the University of North Florida women's basketball team to a 77-67 Atlantic Sun victory over Lipscomb on Wednesday night at UNF Arena.

Brittany Kirkland notched her second 20-point game in three contests with a game-high 21 points. Jadhken Kerr, who was 4-for-6 from three point range, added a season-best 18 points, while Octavia Langston chipped in with 10. Larkira Jones grabbed a game-best 11 rebounds.

Anna Bowers led a trio of Lady Bison with 15 points. Hannah Phillips scored 14 with Sasha Robinson adding 12. Erika Thornsberry pulled down a team-best six boards.

UNF shot 46.3 percent for the night, going 25-for-54. The Ospreys won the battle of the boards as they grabbed 38 rebounds compared to Lipscomb's 28.

Lipscomb shot 49.1 percent (26-for-53) for the game, including 61.1 percent (11-for-18) in the first half.

UNF got 40 first half points for the first time this season with 21 of those coming from long range. Both teams battled for control of the game for the first eight minutes with four ties occurring during that time. With the score tied 18-18, a foul shot by Kim Baker was the first of a 13-point run for the Ospreys. The run was capped when Destinee Smith hit a three at 7:48 to make it a 31-18 game. Although, Lipscomb answered with an 11-1 run to pull to within three, UNF had an 11-1 run of its own to close out the half with 43-30 advantage.

Lipscomb came out with a 16-2 run to start the second half and take a 46-45 lead at 14:16. However, UNF responded with a 17-5 spurt to regain a significant lead. A jumper from Kerr at 7:15 capped the run and put the Ospreys ahead 63-51. UNF pushed its lead to 15 before Lipscomb attempted to rally. The Lady Bison pulled to within six four times, including at 33 seconds with a Robinson foul shot. But both Megan Peterson and Kerr sank a pair of foul shots down the stretch as UNF held on for a 10-point victory.

The Ospreys are on the road for two-straight games. UNF begins the trip at conference leader Florida Gulf Coast on Saturday. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m., at Alico Arena.

MEN'S COLLEGE BASKETBALL: JU Dolphons fall to Belmont, 75-63

One big run in the first half was the difference as Belmont held off several second half charges from Jacksonville for a 75-63 win in Atlantic Sun Conference play Wednesday night.

Belmont (11-5, 4-0 A-Sun) used a 15-2 run over seven minutes late in the first half and got a game-high 19 points from Drew Hanlen, leading four Bruins in double figures for the win.

Jacksonville (2-12, 0-3 A-Sun) got a team-high 16 points from Aloys Cabell off the bench, but was unable to overcome a cold shooting first half. The Dolphins were 6-of-29 from the floor and just 1-of-7 in the opening half.

"The effort by our guys tonight was good," said JU head coach Cliff Warren. "We made a few mistakes there in the first half and Belmont is going to make you pay for those."

The Dolphins out scored Belmont in the second half by three after trailing at halftime, 34-19, thanks to 14-of-26 shooting. Jacksonville fell behind by as many as 20 in the second half, but rallied to cut the deficit to 12 on a Cabell 3-pointer with 14:52 left and eventually down to 11 on a Glenn Powell dunk with 42 seconds remaining.

Belmont hit a season-low four 3-pointers, with Hanlen hitting all three attempts. The Bruins though made a living at the free throw line, hitting 31-of-42 at the stripe. The foul marred contest saw both teams combine for 47 fouls and 68 free throw attempts.

Jacksonville raced out early, scoring the first five points, but Belmont took the lead on a Mick Hedgepath old fashioned 3-point play and took the lead for good on a pair of Blake Jenkins free throws with 11:30 left in the opening half - eventually building a 15-point lead at the intermission.

The 15-2 run saw Belmont turn a 15-13 lead into a 30-15 margin over more than seven minutes. The Bruins scored the first seven points on the spurt before Powell tried to slow the run with a layup with 6:01 left in the half. Belmont came right back with the next eight points - capping the run with an Ian Clark layup with 3:04 remaining.

Kerron Johnson added 17 points for Belmont despite hitting just 3-of-10 from the floor, going 10-for-14 at the free throw line. Hedgepath added 13 points and a team-high seven rebounds.

Jacksonville got a double-double from Powell, who scored 15 points and pulled down 11 boards to go along with a career-high tying four blocks as the Dolphins blocked eight shots as a team. Tevin Galvin added 10 points as well.

The Dolphins will hit the road for the next two games against in-state rivals, starting with a trip to Stetson on Saturday afternoon. Tipoff is set for 3:15 p.m. and can be seen on ESPN3.