JACKSONVILLE, Ala. – Jacksonville University men's basketball went toe-to-toe with ASUN leaders Jacksonville State, before ultimately falling, 64-58 on the road on Saturday evening.
 
The Dolphins (14-8, 6-4) took the lead with under six minutes to play and pressed again late, but it was not enough against the Gamecocks at Pete Mathews Coliseum.
 
It was a game defined by runs, which started with JU overcoming an early seven-point deficit with a 17-3 run over the course of eight minutes, with the Dolphins going from trailing 12-5 to leading 22-15 with 8:20 to play in the first and causing JSU to call for a timeout.
 
A 9-0 run not long after propelled the Gamecocks to the lead again, 31-26, with 2:30 left in the opening half. Kevion Nolan swished a three-pointer with three seconds left in the half to cut the deficit to three at the break, 33-30.
 
JU struggled to score in the second half, but continued to play tough defense. After JSU built the lead out to nine just under three minutes into the second half, Gyasi Powell hit a tough three and Tyreese Davis made a put-back layup to cut it to four again quickly.
 
Neither team scored for two and a half minutes, and the score stayed in the four-to-seven-point range for much of the second half. Trailing 48-41 with 11:37 to play, Nolan sank a three and, after nearly four minutes of scoreless basketball, Bryce Workman picked up a steal and fed Tyreese Davis for the breakaway layup to cut it to one. Workman grabbed an offensive rebound a few possessions later and scored it to give JU a 49-48 lead with 5:49 to play.
 
JSU called a timeout, and after the break scored a contested three-pointer at the end of the shotclock to retake the lead and never trailed again. The Gamecocks built the advantage out to 10 before Nolan swished a three-pointer with 46 seconds remaining, and JU got as close as six on two more Nolan threes, but never any closer.
 
UP NEXT
 
Jacksonville returns home to host Eastern Kentucky on Wednesday, Feb. 9 at 7 p.m. at Swisher Gymnasium.
 
COACH'S COMMENTS

 

NUMBERS YOU SHOULD KNOW
 

• Kevion Nolan and Bryce Workman led the team in scoring for the second-straight game, with Nolan going for 19 and Workman 14 off of the bench
• Nolan added six rebounds and a team-best seven assists, while Workman led the way with eight rebounds
• JU turned it over six times, a season-low