JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - Aloys Cabell scored 24 points and the Jacksonville men's basketball team was able to outlast Kennesaw State for a 73-71 victory in Atlantic Sun Conference play at Swisher Gymnasium on Monday night.
Cabell had his third 20-point scoring effort in the last four games, leading the Dolphins (8-20, 6-11 A-Sun) to their third straight win and into a tie with Stetson in the win column for the eighth and final spot in the General Shale Brick Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament.
Cabell's big night was just one of four Dolphins in double figures, as JU was able to overcome its 15 turnovers to pick up another crucial victory.
The big night from Cabell was needed as Kennesaw State (3-26, 0-16 A-Sun) got a game-high 27 points from Markeith Cummings.
"Every win this time of year is a big win," said JU head coach Cliff Warren. "We made too many careless mistakes with the basketball, but we also got some stops late in the game when we needed them. It was a great team win with everyone making a contribution."
Jacksonville built a 15-point lead in the first half, but the Owls cut it to nine at the half, 38-29, as Cabell led the way with 18 points in the opening stanza.
KSU slowly cut the deficit in the second half and cut the deficit down to one possession, 73-70, on a Romain Henry layup with 1:23 left in the game. Moments later, Cummings had a chance to cut the deficit to one, but made just 1-of-2 at the stripe to make it 73-71 with 41 seconds remaining.
Looking to run out the clock and make a shot, Chris Davis ended up with the ball as the shot clock ran down and his jumper clanged off the rim and out of bounds, giving KSU the ball down two with 6.5 seconds left.
On the final play of the game, Henry took a 3-pointer from the corner that overshot the rim and allowed the Dolphins to escape with the victory.
Jacksonville made a strong living on the glass, holding a seven-rebound advantage and scored 11 second chance points. Tevin Galvin and Delwan Graham were a big part of that success for JU, with Galvin scoring 14 points with 10 rebounds while Graham had 12 points and nine boards. Glenn Powell chipped in with 11 points.
Next up for the Dolphins is their regular season finale at the Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena on Friday at 7 p.m. against North Florida in the SunTrust River City Rumble. Tickets are available at the Arena box office or on Ticketmaster.com.
