BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Jacksonville University men's basketball surrendered a 9-0 run to end the first half and 13 of the first 16 points of the second to turn a tight contest at UAB into an 80-61 win for the Blazers on Wednesday night in Bartow Arena.
 
The Dolphins (3-2) jumped out to an early lead, but were outrebounded by 17 on a night in which they were shorthanded from the jump.
 
Kevion Nolan continued his streak of dominance in his home state, scoring eight quick points to start, including a three-pointer to score the first points of the game and an old-fashioned three-point play four minutes in. Nolan picked up his second foul with 11:09 to play in the first and went to the bench for the remainder of the opening stanza.
 
UAB immediately jumped out to an 18-14 lead, but the Dolphins continued to battle with its leading scorer on the bench. Gyasi Powell buried a three with 8:51 to play to pull JU within one and Jordan Davis fed Omar Payne for a slam to go back up 19-18.
 
After UAB went up by four again, Payne dunked home another to cut it to two, and later, Dylan O'Hearn hit a three to keep the Dolphins within a possession. Davis made a pair of free throws to cut it to two, 28-26 with 2:59 left in the half, but the Blazers scored the last nine to head into the break.
 
Nolan started out the second half with a quick three, but it was the only points JU scored for the first five minutes of the second. The best stretch came when Powell sank a long two on a dime from Nolan, who then reversed actions when Powell had the helper on Nolan's three, followed by a Powell steal and Davis fast break layup for a 7-0 run to cut it to 13, 56-43 with 10:53 left. UAB came down and hit a three and it was never under 15 points the rest of the way.
 
UP NEXT
 
Jacksonville returns home to host Trinity Baptist at Swisher Gym on Saturday. It is Healthcare Appreciation Day and also features free admission for the general public. Tip-off is scheduled for 4 p.m.
 
COACH'S COMMENTS

 

NUMBERS YOU SHOULD KNOW
 

• Kevion Nolan, who entered the night averaging 18.3 points and shooting 48 percent on threes in the four games he had played in his home state of Alabama in a Dolphin uniform, scored 20 and made 5-7 threes, while also collecting four rebounds, three assists, two steals and a block
• It was Nolan's second-straight 20-point game and his 11th overall in his career
• Nolan became the first JU player to make five or more threes in a game since he did it at Jacksonville State on Feb. 5, 2022
• Gyasi Powell scored in double-figures for the third-time this season, and Omar Payne did for the second time