Men’s basketball asserts Duval dominance, sweeps JU with River City Rumble win

Jacob Justice, Sports Reporter
February 5, 2023

The University of North Florida men’s basketball team faced off against the Jacksonville University Dolphins on Saturday, taking the match 65-58.

The matchup occurred at UNF Arena, with the Ospreys boasting an incredible 4,439 fans in attendance. This is the program’s highest-attended game since the 2016 season and the fourth-most attended River City Rumble in series history.

This also marks the first time that UNF has swept JU in both home and away contests since the 2019-2020 season.

The Ospreys were strong on the glass throughout the game, out-rebounding the Dolphins heavily with 34 boards compared to JU’s 22

This was achieved in no small part thanks to redshirt junior forward Dorian James, who grabbed a team-leading seven rebounds in the contest.

During his opening postgame statement, UNF Head Coach Matthew Driscoll accredited the perseverance of his squad, as well as following through with tough matches while not worrying about past decisions. 

“The other night we talked about how confidence comes from looking someone in the eye,” Driscoll said. “We talked specifically before the game on how when you look someone in the eye you’ve gotta continue to look straight ahead, you can’t worry about the rear view mirror.”

The Ospreys were also able to make it rain from beyond the arc, dropping an astounding 13 three-pointers in the contest.

Four of these came courtesy of redshirt junior guard Jose Placer, who further solidified himself as an offensive weapon with a game-leading 21-point performance.

Placer wasn’t the only one with a great outing, however. Sophomore forward Jadyn Parker proved to be a beast in the paint, blocking two shots in what is now a total 101 blocks as an Osprey. He is only the sixth player in program history to pass 100 blocks.

Senior forward Carter Hendricksen also set a new record, earning a total 700 career rebounds with a four-rebound showing in Saturday’s contest.

The Ospreys are now 10-14 on the season with a 5-7 record in the ASUN conference. Their record has seen quite the improvement in the latter half of the season.

The Ospreys will be staying at the Nest this upcoming week, with in-conference matchups against Florida Gulf Coast University on Thursday and Stetson University on Saturday giving North Florida an opportunity to further improve their record in wake of the looming ASUN tournament.

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