MOON TOWNSHIP, Pa. - The Jacksonville men's basketball team defeated Robert Morris 74-65 in what was a chippy, testing contest all afternoon.
 
In what was a back-and-forth contest all night that featured 11 ties and five lead changes for both sides, the Dolphins came away victorious. After what can be deemed a 'down' night by Robert McCray V and Bryce Workman's standards last week against Pittsburgh, the JU duo combined for a total of 43 points to lead the Dolphins in scoring. McCray's 25 are a season-high, and Workman's 18 are the second-most he's scored in a game this season. McCray also tallied an additional four steals and six assists, while Workman secured seven rebounds.
 
In the first half, Jacksonville shot 50 percent from the field on 13-26 shots, but failed to sink a bucket from three-point range. The biggest difference in the half was Robert Morris, who went 10-12 from the charity stripe, compared to Jacksonville, which made three in five attempts. That, and the added three-pointer, proved to be enough for the Colonials in the first half as they hung onto a two-point lead at the break.
 
After scoring just seven points in the first half, the second is when McCray began to take over. The redshirt-sophomore went on to score 18 second-half points, with Workman following with 10 himself. In the final five minutes alone, McCray scored seven, which was the most in the final part of the game.
 
Due in part to both benches being ejected in a skirmish near the scorer's table with 6:22 remaining in the game, JU and RMU had to use the same five players to close out the game. This altercation meant Dolphins players Marcus Niblack, McCray, Jarius Cook, Donovan Rivers, and Workman all played more than 25 minutes. Niblack saw a team-high 35 minutes played and led the team in steals with five in the process, en route to his third straight game in double figures and fourth of the season.

COACH'S COMMENTS



UP NEXT

The Dolphins will jump right back into action tomorrow at 4 p.m. against Fairleigh Dickinson in game two of the Urban-Bennett Memorial Classic. FDU went to the NCAA tournament a season ago and was the second 16-seed to upset a one-seed in tournament history. The game can be streamed on ESPN+ or listened to on 1010XL.
 
NUMBERS YOU SHOULD KNOW

• McCray currently leads the Dolphins in scoring at 17 points per game, which is good for ninth in the conference. McCray is one of two players in the top-10 in conference scoring to have less than 10 free throws recorded.
• Niblack is second in the conference in steals per game, averaging 2.2 after his five steal performance against to Colonials.