Photo by Grace Singer

The Jacksonville University Men’s Basketball team lost two straight games last week to end the regular season.

The losing streak began after a clutch play by Florida Gulf Coast University Guard Christophe Varidel’s who had a buzzer beating 3-pointer with 2.2 seconds remaining which gave them a 56-55 win over the Dolphins Thursday February 24.

In that game, the Eagles knocked down five 3-pointers to fend off the comeback JU was making. The Dolphins head coach, Cliff Warren, felt as if they gave the Eagles too many opportunities out their on the court.

“We didn’t do a very good job on the boards and gave them too many chances,” Warren said.

Consequently, that type of weak performance followed them to Stetson at the Edmunds Center Saturday, Feb. 26, in a 70-62 losing effort. This was a game where Stetson’s Luis Jacobo had a game high 28 points, which included five 3-pointers and 11 rebounds that gave him a double-double. The Dolphins did have three players who scored in double figures; Tevin Galvin led the way with 13 points.

The team plans to use game film as a study guide to correct the problems they’ve been facing.

“We’re going to go back and watch the tape from this and get better, Stetson played at a high level tonight and we didn’t answer their effort,” Warren said.

The past two teams the Dolphins lost to have losing records in which both of them have lost more than half of their games. On Mar. 3 the team will begin the General Shale Brick A-Sun Tournament against the six seed and cross-town rival UNF in Macon, Ga.

Photo by Grace Singer

The Jacksonville University Women’s Basketball Team rounded out the end of the regular season with a two-game losing streak by falling to Stetson Saturday Feb. 26.

The 17-12 Hatters, 13-7 in conference play, started running fast and seemed to never ease off the gas as they received help from Guard Tierra Brown who had made three of her four 3-pointers in the first half.

Stetson shot 45.1 percent from the floor, connected on seven 3-pointers and had three other players in double figured along with Brown who put up a 22-point performance.

The dolphins’ head coach Jill Dunn felt that the early run was a key factor in the loss.

“Stetson hit some shots early and we didn’t respond the way we need to,” Dunn said.

Despite losing their second straight game on the road, Taneskei Richardson left it all on the court with her second double-double in a row by ending the game with 17 points and 14 rebounds.

Nevertheless, the level of play Richardson gave will be pivotal as the Dolphins prepare to participate in the General Shale Brick Atlantic Sun Tournament Mar. 3 in Macon, Ga. They will begin the tourney with a familiar foe, the fourth seed and rival University of North Florida.

“We’re going to put this one behind us and get ready for the tournament next week,” Dunn said.

The Jacksonville University Men’s Basketball team extended their win streak to three after clutch play down the stretch against Mercer Sunday, Feb. 20.

The streak began after annihilating Kennesaw State 75-60. Ayron Hardy led the scoring this game with 15 points, eight rebounds and three assists. Contribution came in variety as three dolphins scored in double figures, giving a big aid to the team’s efforts.

Photo by Grace Singer

The Dolphin’s momentum and team chemistry made its presence known early against the Mercer Bears as they opened the game with a 15-4 run. The Bears clawed their way back to enter half time down 37-30. In the end the second half mattered most as JU scored eight of the 10 final points in the last 4:31 minutes in regulation coming away with a 74-68 victory.

The Dolphins Head Coach explained the timeliness of the clutch, defensive play towards the end.

“We got the right stops at the right time late in the game,” Coach Cliff Warren said.

Delwan Graham was the point leader with 16 along with eight rebounds and six assists. A total of three players racked up double figures against Mercer.

As a result, the Dolphins have now officially clinched the third seed for the General Shale Brick Tournament with a 19-8 overall record, 13-5 in A-Sun conference play.

Photo by Grace Singer

The Jacksonville University Women’s basketball team took the saying “home court advantage” and made it a reality last weekend. On Friday, Feb. 18, the Lady Fins started a two-game home stand against Atlantic Sun Conference opponent Kennesaw State University.

The dolphins exploded out of the gate, going on a 23-2 run in the first seven minutes of the game. The early run was capped off by consecutive three-pointers by senior Guard GiGi Thomas as she finished with a team high 14 points. The Fins’ defense stifled KSU in the first half forcing 15 turnovers and 5-of-29 shooting from the field. This outstanding early play gave JU a 23-point lead at half time.

The second half was the exact opposite as KSU cut the 23-point lead down to six in the second half with a 19-2 run. This run woke the Dolphins up just in time as they started scoring again, and they finished with four women in double figures. This helped clinch the 65-60 win for the Fns.

“We did a lot of good things in the first half. Our intensity and execution on both ends of the floor was where we wanted it,” said JU head coach Jill Dunn.

JU played a few days later, Feb. 20, as the faced another A-sun opponent in Mercer University. This was Senior Day for the dolphins, and seniors Lynsey Paschal, GiGi Thomas and Taneskei Richardson recorded a 64-61 victory in their last home game at JU. The Dolphins were led by Paschal as she scored a career-best 20 points in the game. Thomas and Richardson also followed her lead by scoring in double figures in their last home outing.

“We were led by our seniors in their final game; they put the team on their shoulders and helped us get the victory in the end,” Coach Dunn said.

The dolphins were down by 10 to start the second half but came out firing to close the gap. The Bears kept their distance though until the final minutes of the game when JU took a 53-52 lead with four minutes left. Mercer continued to battle with JU until the last seconds when junior Guard Jessica George iced the game with two clutch free throws. The next outing for the Lady Fins will be Thursday, Feb. 24 against conference leader Florida Gulf Coast University in Fort Meyers.

After a well-needed four game home stand the Jacksonville University Women’s Basketball team was back on the road. Saturday, Feb. 12, the lady fins faced Atlantic Sun Conference opponent University of South Carolina Upstate. In the game JU had their hands full trying to stop Spartans’ player Chelsea McMillan who had a game high 22 points and 10 rebounds.

The Dolphins’ biggest enemy though was ball security, as they recorded 21 turnovers giving USC Upstate too many extra scoring opportunities. JU went into the half trailing by only two points, but Upstate came out storming building that lead to 12 points in no time.  JU Head Coach Jill Dunn commented on the deficit.

“We fell behind early in the second half and couldn’t make enough stops to come back,” Dunn said.

The Lady fins continued to fight though and brought the game close, especially at the two-minute mark, when they only trailed by three. The comeback fell short though due to clutch free throw shooting by the Spartans at the end of the game. JU was led by four Dolphins that scored in double figures, including senior Forward Lynsey Paschal who recorded a double double in the 72-68 loss for the Fins.

The Lady Fins attempted to rebound from that loss two days later on Feb. 14 against East Tennessee State University. The Dolphins jumped out on the Lady Bucs in the first half after a 12-0 run. JU went up by 11 with six minutes left in the first half thanks to efficient play down low by Forwards Jane’l Osborne and Taneskei Richardson. This start allowed the Dolphins to take a 14-point lead into half.

In the second half the ladies hot streak quickly melted. ETSU scored 13 of the first 15 points in the second half, to cut JU’s lead to three with 12 minutes left in the game. JU shot a dismal 7-for-28 from the field in the second half. This cold performance allowed the Bucs to go on a 13-4 run in the last seven minutes of the game giving ETSU a final 75-65 edge over the dolphins.

“We just can’t play a full game right now, we need to find a way to play a complete game soon or we will hurt ourselves in the final part of the schedule,” Coach Dunn said.

Sophomore Guard Maggie Wilson led the way for the Dolphins with 14 points in the game. JU (11-14, 6-10 A-Sun) hopes to change these losing ways come Friday, Feb. 18, as they face Kennesaw State University (8-16, 5-11 A-Sun) at Veterans Memorial Arena at 5 p.m.

The Jacksonville University Men’s Basketball Team recovered from the East Tennessee State game to defeat USC Upstate at the Hodge Center in Atlantic Sun Conference competition.

Senior Ayron Hardy led the Dolphins with his performance by posting up 15 points, seven rebounds, five assists, two steals and one block.

Russell Powell’s efforts gave JU a boost as well by putting up nine points, four assists and two rebounds. He discussed how the victory impacted the team.

“The win at Upstate was a good win because we had just come off a disappointing performance against ETSU,” Powell said. “We felt as if it was a chance to come out and get back to playing the way we do at JU, which is defending, rebounding, and running.”

ETSU has given JU problems in the past before, and the previous lost shot down expectations. The successes at the Upstate game definitely gave the Dolphins the jump-start the entire team needed as a whole to get back on track to dominate in conference play.

“We got a great contribution from our bench which sparked us in the game at Upstate, all fourteen of our guys, even down to our manager Kerry Ottaviani,” Powell said.