KENNESAW, Ga. – The men's basketball team of Jacksonville University (15-13, 7-4 A-Sun) lost to Kennesaw State (9-18, 5-6 A-Sun) 90-69 on Saturday in the KSU Convocation Center.

The loss drops Jacksonville into a three-way tie for first place in the Atlantic Sun with the University of North Florida and the New Jersey Institute of Technology.

"Coming into this game I thought that we had a good game plan and a chance to continue to be the tough team that we've developed into, and we weren't this weekend," said Head Coach Tony Jasick. "When your margin is as small as ours, you have to compete on every possession. Thursday and today we certainly didn't, so we're going to evaluate what went in to this week, and prepare for what is a big home weekend coming up."

The Dolphins started the second half well, pulling within six points, 52-46, with a little under 15 minutes left. Kennesaw came back with a big run of its own, outscoring the Dolphins 10-4. At the second media timeout, Kennesaw led 62-50. Jacksonville got the lead back down to single digits on a dunk by J.R. Holder, but the Owls responded with a three, stretching the lead back out to 12. Jacksonville wouldn't get any closer for the rest of the game, with the lead growing to 23 points with under 3 minutes left. The game ended with a 21-point margin.

Holder had 18 points and three rebounds, Omar El Manasterly had a career-best 16 points and seven boards, and Kori Babineaux had 11 points, three boards, and two assists. Josh Adeyeye had nine points, Antwon Clayton had four points, and Marcel White had three points.

"Omar did a good job of being prepared," said Jasick. "They were doubling and staying hard on the ballhandler on the ball screens, and that left him open. A great effort by him today."

Both teams struggled to make baskets at first, with Kennesaw missing its first three attempts and Jacksonville missing its first six. JU took a 1-0 lead thanks to a Holder free throw, but that was the only lead the Dolphins would hold in the game. The Owls hit seven of their next eight shots while JU still couldn't find its range, hitting just three of its first 11 attempts. Yet the Dolphins kept it close by forcing a ton of Owl fouls, and at the 12 minute mark, KSU led by just four, 18-14.

An 11-4 Kennesaw run gave the Owls a 29-18 lead with a little over 7 minutes remaining. The Dolphins fought back with a 6-0 run to pull within five points, but Kennesaw closed the half with a 15-8 run that kept Jacksonville at arms-length, 44-34, at the end of the period.

The Dolphins wrap up their regular season with home games against USC Upstate, NJIT, and UNF.

"Our people in Jacksonville have been great to us in Swisher," said Jasick. "I certainly have no reason to believe that won't continue. We've got a lot to play for, and a lot to prepare for. Hopefully our guys can accept the challenge and the opportunity that's in front of them the last two weeks."

Tip Ins

• El Manasterly's 16 points were a career-best. He previous best was 12 points, which he scored at home against Florida Memorial on Dec. 2.
• Kori Babineaux has now scored 993 points in his two seasons with Jacksonville. He'll have three more games to join the 1,000 point club at JU.

Fans can follow all the action from the 2015-16 season at JUDolphins.com and through Twitter @JacksonvilleMBB.