It was tournament time last week and the Jacksonville University men’s basketball team walked away with a hard-earned championship in the Urban-Bennett Memorial Classic at Robert Morris University near Pittsburgh.
The Dolphins beat the host team 74-65 in a game that was tied 11 times and marred by four technical fouls, one each on JU senior guard Marcus Niblack and RMU’s TJ Wainwright, and one each on the two benches. The Dolphins led 60-59 before losing on a 14-6 run. Sophomore guard Robert McCray scored seven of the points, five on free throws down the stretch.
McCray had 25 points and senior forward Bryce Workman added 18 points and seven rebounds.
JU then edged Farleigh Dickinson 91-90 in the championship game. The Dolphins trailed 84-83 with under two minutes left but McCray hit a 3-pointer with 1:27 remaining, Niblack fed junior forward DeeJuan Pruitt for a transition dunk and Workman made 3 of 4 from the foul line in the last 14 seconds.
McCray led the Dolphins with 24 points and junior guard Gyasi Powell had 17 off the bench.
Men: Robert McCray paces Dolphins in tournament games
Player of the week: JU’s McCray scored 49 points and shot 17 of 28 from the floor in the Dolphins’ two victories.
Stat line of the week: Edward Waters junior guard Goliath Mitchell had 29 points, shot 11 of 16 from the floor, 4 of 5 from beyond the 3-point line and made all three of his foul shots in the Tigers’ 81-76 victory over Central State (Ohio) to open the home schedule on Saturday.
This week’s games
Wednesday
Campbell at Jacksonville, 6 p.m.
Paine (Ga.) at Flagler, 7 p.m.
North Florida at Iowa, 9 p.m.
Thursday
Trinity Baptist at Southeastern Baptist (Miss), 7 p.m.
USC-Beaufort at Edward Waters, 7:30 p.m.
Friday
Trinity Baptist at Pensacola Christian, 8:30 p.m.
Saturday
High Point at North Florida, 2 p.m.
New College at Flagler, 2 p.m.
Jacksonville at Georgia Southern, 3 p.m.
Edward Waters at Miles College (Ala.), 4 p.m.
Noting UNF (4-3): After playing four games the previous week, the Ospreys had only one this week: a 75-63 loss at LSU. North Florida was doubled up at halftime 36-18 and trailed by 30 points with under 14 minutes left. But UNF rallied with a late 14-0 run and sophomore forward Max Hrdickla, playing only nine minutes, had a three-point play and two 3-pointers on successive possessions to cut the LSU lead to nine. It was as close as UNF got. Freshman guard Jaylen Smith led UNF with 13 points and the bench scored 35 points. … The Ospreys will travel to Iowa City on Wednesday to take on the Hawkeyes (4-2). The game will be aired on the Big Ten Network.
Noting JU (4-2): McCray, a transfer from Wake Forest, has scored in double figures in five of the team’s six games this season. … Workman is second in the ASUN in field-goal percentage of 69.2 and Niblack is fifth at 58.8.
Noting Edward Waters (2-4, 1-0 in the SIAC): The Tigers trailed Flagler 74-45 with 8:42 left in St. Augustine but outscored the Saints 16-2 over the balance of the game to make the final score a more respectable 83-70. Mitchell scored nine points during the run. … Junior forward Kristian Ford helped the cause in the victory over Central State with 20 points and sophomore guard Trevino Glover added 15 points, all on 3-pointers.
Noting Trinity Baptist (2-1): The Eagles did not play last week. When they face Southeastern Baptist (Miss.) on Thursday, it will be their first game in nine days.
Noting Flagler (2-3): Junior guard Omar Figueroa did not take a shot inside the 3-point arc against Edward Waters. He made 7 of 12 for 21 points in the victory, the Saints’ only game of the week. Senior guard Malik Bryant added 15 points and seven assists.
Women: Jayla Adams scores and dishes for UNF
Player of the week: University of North Florida graduate senior point guard Jayla Adams of Daytona Beach scored 39 points and had 11 assists and eight rebounds in three games last week. In a 56-55 loss to South Florida, Adams had 20 points and made 5 of 8 3-point attempts.
Stat line of the week: Flagler junior guard Destiny McClendon scored 24 points, shooting 7 of 12 from the floor, 2 of 2 from beyond the arc and 8 of 10 from the foul line in the Saints’ 68-52 victory over Florida Tech.
This week’s games
Tuesday
Jacksonville at Bethune-Cookman, 6 p.m.
Wednesday
Warner at North Florida, 7 p.m.
Thursday
USC-Beautfort at Edward Waters, 5:30 p.m.
Friday
Jacksonville at Florida International, 7 p.m.
Trinity Baptist at Pensacola Christian, 6:30 p.m.
Saturday
North Florida at St. Joseph’s, 12 p.m.
Edward Waters at Miles College (Ala.), 2 p.m.
Noting UNF (1-6): It was a tough week for the Ospreys as they lost three road games by an average margin of eight points. Their loss to USF came after holding the Bulls scoreless over the final 3:17 and they dropped both games in the Georgia Southern GATA Turkey Throwdown, 85-75 to the host team and 73-60 to USC-Upstate. In both games, UNF was outscored by seven points in the fourth quarter. Junior guard Kalia Rougier came off the bench for 21 points in 22 minutes against Georgia Southern.
Noting JU (2-2): In the Dolphins’ only game of the week, a fourth-quarter comeback fell short in a 59-54 loss at Florida A&M. Freshman forward Saniyah Craig came off the bench to collect 16 points and six rebounds. Junior guard Edyn Battle scored eight of her 10 points in the final period.
Noting Edward Waters (2-2, 1-2 in SIAC): Junior center Imani Harris scored six points during a 17-5 run to force overtime against Central State, then had all six of the Tigers’ points in the extra period in a 69-68 victory at home. Junior guard Tatum Hayes tied the game with a 3-pointer with 14 seconds left in regulation and junior guard Isis Smith rebounded the miss of Central’s Naomi Shorts at the end of overtime.
Noting Trinity Baptist (3-4): With 23 points on 9 of 13 shooting in a 77-66 loss to FSC at Jacksonville, freshman forward Madylyn Touze is averaging 18.3 points and 61.4 from the floor in her first seven games.
Noting Flagler (3-3): The Saints split their games in the Bahama House Shootout in Daytona Beach, beating Florida Tech to salvage the weekend. They lost their first game, 90-66 to Embry-Riddle, despite 21 points, eight rebounds and five assists from junior guard Dane Bertolina and 20 points from sophomore guard Jessica Dowdy. Both players made 5 of 9 from beyond the arc.