GREENSBORO, N.C. – The Jacksonville University men's basketball team (4-5) made its second trip to North Carolina in less than a week and this time, thanks to a dominant effort on the defensive end, left with an important road victory over North Carolina A&T, 61-45.

The Dolphins held the Aggies to just 29.5 percent shooting on their home floor (18-61) and 3-20 from long range while allowing just 14 points in the first half to build a 16-point advantage at the break. Jacksonville allowed N.C. A&T to shoot just 17.2 percent in that first half. No one on the home side found their way into double figures and this is the first time this season a Jacksonville opponent has failed to do so.

David Bell remained a force to be reckoned with inside, scoring a game-high 16 points and hauling in a game-high 14 rebounds over 32 minutes of action. He was 7-7 from the floor at one point but had to settle for 7-9 to go with an assist and a steal. This marked Bell's fourth-consecutive double-double. During his stretch of four double-doubles, the redshirt senior is averaging 15.0 points and 13.3 rebounds.

The Dolphins jumped ahead to an 8-1 lead before anyone could settle into the action that later ballooned to 14-3 followed a triple from Aamahne Santos and a driving lay-in from Bryce Workman. Santos finished the afternoon with five points and two assists while Workman, plagued by foul trouble, posted an efficient five points and three boards over just eight minutes of court time.

The Aggies found their way to double digits by the 7:10 mark but did not score again until a pair free throws at the four-minute mark and were held without a field goal until there was just until there was just 1:03 to play in the half. Jacksonville led by as many as 16, multiple times in throughout the late first half. By halftime, eight different Dolphins had already put points on the board.

Early in the second half, Jacksonville jumped ahead by as many as 21 when Kevin Norman buried a long triple to make a 37-16 ball game. Norman made the first start of his Dolphin career and made the most of it, scoring 12 points on 5-10 shooting with a pair of three balls. He also grabbed six boards and handed out a pair of assists.

The Aggies made their run to get it down to a 14-point game with 4:53 left but Bell put a stop to that run with a layup on the other end. N.C. A&T pulled to within 12 with 1:42 left  but DeAnthony McCallum and Bell (Hodges Mazda Player of the Game) knocked down free throws down the stretch to secure the victory.

Not mentioned was Destin Barnes who scored five points and pulled down seven boards along with Diante Wood who gave JU eight points to lead all those who came off the bench in this one.

Next up for Jacksonville is a date with Marquette in Milwaukee, Wis. on Wednesday night (Dec. 4). That game is set for a 9 p.m. EST tip and will air nationally on FS2.