JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Jacksonville University men's basketball weathered a late rally from North Carolina A&T to capture a 63-54 win on Saturday afternoon at Swisher Gym.
 
The Dolphins (2-0) got big play from Jordan Davis all day, but none bigger than a chasedown block with 1:02 remaining to preserve a four-point lead and essentially quash the Aggies late comeback bid.
 
Davis finished as the game's leading scorer, dropping 18 on 6-11 shooting, while making 6-8 free throws, five rebounds, two assists, three steals and the two big blocks in a statsheet-stuffing afternoon to keep the Dolphins perfect in the Jordan Mincy era.
 
The day started with some good old-fashioned defense, as both teams felt each other out throughout the early part of the day. Jacksonville led 5-3 five minutes into the game, and the offense never got clicking for either side in the first half. JU turned defense into offense about halfway through the half, building out a 10-point advantage on the strength of points off of turnovers. The Aggies closed the half strong, however, going on a 10-3 run to cut the score to 24-21 Dolphins at the break.
 
JU made its first three of the game with 17:41 to go in the second half when Tyreese Davis canned a corner three to build the lead to six, 29-23. Jordan Davis then fed Tommy Bruner for another three to push it to seven, 32-25.
 
North Carolina A&T kept fighting back, cutting the lead to one possession multiple times. A three-point game halfway through the second half, JU started to separate when Jordan Davis took over. He had a steal and a layup on the other end to push the lead to nine, then got it back to double-figures when he sank the free throw to complete the three-point play. Bryce Workman hit a pair of free throws and George Pridgett drained a three and the Dolphins pushed the margin to 15, 56-41, with 5:44 left, the largest of the game.
 
North Carolina A&T started chipping away, and gradually had trimmed the deficit to four before getting the steal that nearly led to the layup to cut it to two before the big Davis block. From there, he hit a pair of free throws and Tyreese Davis added one as well to get to the final margin.
 
UP NEXT
 
Jacksonville heads on the road for the first time, traveling to Orlando, Florida to face off against former conference foe UCF for the first time since 2013.
 
FAST BREAK
 

• JU once again took advantage of its size inside to outscore North Carolina A&T 30-20 in the paint and shot 19 more free throws
• Despite how tight much of the game was, Jacksonville led for 78 percent of the contest
• Mike Marsh (12 points) and Bryce Workman (10 points) joined Jordan Davis in double-figures. Marsh (8 rebounds) led the Dolphins on the glass