The UNF men’s basketball program faced off in this year’s second River City Rumble outing on Friday evening, losing 50-62 on the road to rival Jacksonville University in a low-scoring game.
The Ospreys started strong in the first half. After tying it up at five a piece in the first three minutes of the game, North Florida went on a massive 11-2 run thanks in no small part to three-pointers from Dorian James, Chaz Lanier and Jah Nze.
This run put the Ospreys up by nine around the midpoint of the first half. UNF kept their lead for the remainder of the first half, most of the time by a sizable margin.
However, near the end of the period, a layup from JU’s Robert McCray, followed by a three-pointer from Marcus Niblack, allowed the Dolphins to significantly cut into the Osprey lead, entering halftime down by only two, with UNF leading 25-23.
JU tied the game up in the first two minutes of the second half at 29 points each, thanks to a dunk from McCray. Followed by some back-and-forth play, the Dolphins took the lead after a three-pointer from Jarius Cook and a layup from Bryce Workman.
Things only got uglier for the Ospreys from here. Two costly turnovers from Nze and several fouls from Dorian James allowed JU to go on an unanswered eight-point run that saw the Dolphins leading 42-34.
JU began to run up the score after this, consistently up by 10 points or more for the remainder of the game. Several North Florida turnovers allowed JU to keep their steady lead and win the game 50-62.
UNF had trouble with missed shots in this game. The team only sank 29.5% of their shots and only eight of 34 attempts from the three-point line—not exactly a mark to remember from a team that ranks in the ASUN top 5 for three-point percentage.
Despite the loss, Jah Nze had an impressive outing, leading the team with 17 points and putting up a solid five-rebound performance on the glass.
Dorian James, on the other hand, had a rough night. The veteran forward allowed a season-high 10 turnovers in the game, mainly due to Jacksonville’s aggressive full-court press defense.
The Ospreys will have a chance to improve at home this week, as they are set to face off against FGCU on Wednesday evening before taking on the Stetson Hatters on Friday evening in the team’s senior night. Both games start at 7:00 p.m.
___
For more information or news tips, or if you see an error in this story or have any compliments or concerns, contact editor@unfspinnaker.com.
