JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Jacksonville University men's basketball team (9-4, 3-0 ASUN) took round one of the 2021 edition of the River City Rumble in thrilling fashion on Friday night in front of the Swisher Gym faithful, knocking off North Florida (2-9, 0-1 ASUN), 66-65.

Dontarius James buried 11 field goals to become the second Dolphin this season to bag 30 points in a game. He added six rebounds and was the reliable presence around the rim all night for JU but once again, it was Kevion Nolan that provided the heroics in the closing moments. Nolan buried a step-back triple with six seconds left to push the Dolphins ahead by one and then defended the would-be game-winning layup on the other end to secure the victory.

Nolan scored 17 points on 6-14 shooting to go with two rebounds five assists and five steals. He's the first Dolphin since the 2018-19 season to secure five steals in a single game and has now buried a dagger triple in three-straight games. He scored the last five points for JU as his team held off a hard-charging UNF team.

Bryce Workman joined that duo on double figures with 10 points and 11 rebounds, securing his second-consecutive double, double for the first time in his career. Workman added a pair of blocks and two steals for good measure. Mo Arnold pulled down six rebounds, handed out four assists and got in on the swipe party with two while Tyreese Davis added four points, five boards, three assists and two steals.

By the end of the game the Dolphins had shot 42.4 percent from the floor on 25-59 shooting while going 5-12 from deep. Jacksonville outrebounded UNF, 37-30, outscored them in the paint, 32-22) and collected 16 second chance points against just one for the visiting side.

The first half was a back-and-forth affair. The Dolphins led by five early on, but North Florida reversed that effort and led by five with 4:13 to go in the half. Workman converted inside to end that surge and with his team trailing by one, Corey Romich canned his lone triple of the night to push JU back into the lead with 1:05 to go in the half. Jacksonville went into the break with a two-point advantage.

Jacksonville was surgical over the course of the first nine minutes of the second half. Davis' coast-to-coast lay-in pushed his team ahead by 12, the largest lead of the game for either side, with 11:13 to play in the game. UNF the embarked on a 12-2 run to pull within two by the 5:01 mark but the Dolphins responded. James buried his first triple of the game to give his team a seven-point advantage at the 3:55 mark.

UNF hit the gas at that point. The Ospreys got hot in a hurry and chipped away until a Carter Hendricksen triple gave them their first lead of the half, 65-63, with just south of 20 seconds to play in the game. Jacksonville Head Coach Tony Jasick, who moved into sole possession of fourth on the Dolphins' all-time wins list on Friday night, called timeout and drew up a play.
 
With the ball in his hands, Nolan had to improvise away from that plan and buried the step-back triple to win the game as the clock wound down. UNF missed its attempt at a game-winner on the other end and that's all she wrote.

Jacksonville and North Florida will lock horns once more on Saturday night (Jan. 9) inside Swisher Gymnasium at 6 p.m. The Dolphins are 3-0 and alone atop the ASUN standings for the first time since the 2010-11 season and will be looking for their first 4-0 start to league play since that same 2010-11 campaign. At 9-4, JU is off to its best start overall since the 2016-17 season.