JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Jacksonville men's basketball overcame several second half deficits and a rowdy road crowd to win 90-86 over North Florida Saturday night at UNF Arena in its ASUN Conference opener.

"I'm happy for our guys. It's a good way to start league play and hopefully we can build from it," said Head Coach Tony Jasick.

A back-and-forth affair in the first half saw North Florida build a double-digit lead it took into halftime, 52-42, on the heels of a strong effort in the paint, outscoring JU 30-22 inside.

"If you're going to beat them [UNF], you have to defend the arc and defend the free throw line. First half, we only did one, and we were down," said Jasick.

Jace Hogan led the way in the first half, with 14 points and five rebounds to keep the Dolphins within striking distance, routinely finding open spots in the UNF zone to knock down jumpers.

Jacksonville used the halftime break to ramp up the energy, and after falling behind by 12 early in the second half, ripped off a 20-6 run. The Dolphins effort to take the lead was fueled by senior forward Antwon Clayton, who blocked two shots, dished three assists and scored four points in the stretch, highlighted by a posterizing dunk, in which he also drew a foul.

"I was going to jump off one foot because I didn't think he [Escobar] was going to jump, but I remember Coach Jasick always says to play off two feet, so I went up strong. I'm glad I did," said Clayton.

A Jalyn Hinton dunk finished the run, with Clayton assisting on a run-out after a North Florida turnover to give JU a 60-59 advantage. But the Ospreys were not done. They used a handful of Jacksonville turnovers and an inability to finish at the rim to attack in transition, and deliver a 13-0 run of its own to retake the lead 78-70 with 6:04 remaining.

The Dolphins had one more rally in them, this time led by freshman guard JD Notae. Notae attacked the rim with regularity and hit two big three pointers in scoring 14 of the next 16 points for JU over a five minutes stretch to give the Dolphins the lead for good. His 25th point of the night was a layup to put JU in front 86-84 with 1:05 remaining.

JU forced the 11th turnover of the night by UNF and Hinton was fouled with 12 seconds left, where the freshman went to the line and iced the game with two free throws. Hinton, making his fourth consecutive start, scored a career-high 22 points.

"We felt like Jalyn could really impact the game around the rim, and I thought JD's spurt and burst in the second half was really important," said Jasick.

Trip Day, who had 19 points on eight of nine shooting, led North Florida.

Jacksonville, who is 1-0 in ASUN Conference play for the first time since the 2012-13 season, returns home to host Kennesaw State Thursday night at 7 p.m. at Swisher Gym.

TIP-INS 

• Notae scored 20 of his game high 25 in the second half, 14 of them in the decisive five minute stretch
• Jace Hogan posted his sixth double-double of the year, scoring 18 and grabbing 11 boards. JU now has 13 double-doubles this season
• Joining Notae, Hinton and Hogan in double figures, senior guard Devin Harris scored 15, and had a team high six assists
• Notae scored in double-figures for the 12th straight game
• JU trailed by as many as 12, the largest deficit overcome in victory this season
• JU improves to 16-13 in the River City Rumble all time

Quotable

  "I don't know, I'll take credit for the three, but you and I both know what type of shot that is."

- Head Coach Tony Jasick joking about freshman JD Notae's step-back, contested, game-tying three