ORANGEBURG, S.C. – The Jacksonville University men's basketball team (6-2) fell behind by as many as 18 points on Sunday afternoon at South Carolina State (0-7) but never wavered, battling all the way back to claim an exciting, 60-58, victory for its third win in five days.
With the result, Jacksonville climbs to 6-2 for the first time since the 2010-11 season with two big games left on the 2020 calendar. The Dolphins have road trips to Miami (Dec. 19) and Kansas State (Dec. 21) on tap to close out non-conference play.
Jacksonville put forth a balanced effort in the box score. The team lead in the scoring column came once-again from
Dontarius James who canned 13 points to go with five rebounds.
Tyreese Davis and
Trey Sides each added 11 while
Mo Arnold pitched in 10 to go with four boards and three assists. Davis came on strong late, scoring seven of his 11 points over the final 2:31, contributing both a game-saving block on the defensive end and the eventual game-winner on the other side.
The Dolphins really struggled to find a rhythm shooting the ball in the early stages of this one, committing seven turnovers in the first 10 minutes which led to an 18-point deficit before they corrected course. The team committed just six turnovers the rest of the way. Davis canned a lay-in at the 6:05 mark of the first half to make it a 16-point game, sparking what became a 13-2 run to close out the half. South Carolina State led, 34-28.
More of the same followed to begin the second half. Jacksonville catapulted itself into the lead with a 16-0 run, completing what became a 29-2 extended run that resulted in a 10-point advantage with 13:12 to play. But the Bulldogs had another run in them. The home side erased that lead and went up five, 56-51, with 4:51 left.
Trey Sides answered the run with a driving lay-in, Davis canned a pair of free throws with 2:31 left and the sprint to the finish was on with JU trailing by just one. SCSU's Rahsaan Edwards scored the last of his game-high 27 to put his team back up three but Davis scored again, this time through contact and converted the ensuing free throw to tie the score with 45 seconds left.
In the closing moments, Davis blocked a shot that would have given SCSU the lead, the notched the eventual game-winner out of a Jacksonville timeout. SCSU missed its game-winning triple attempt and the Dolphins came away with the heart-pounding victory.
