MOON TOWNSHIP, Pa. – Jacksonville University men's basketball staved off a late rally by FDU to win 91-90 on Saturday evening at the UPMC Events Center.
 
The Dolphins (4-2) completed a perfect 2-0 weekend at the Urban-Bennett Memorial Classic hosted by Robert Morris.
 
The Knights were down, but never out, for much of the game. They used a 14-0 run over 3:17 down the stretch to take an 83-81 lead with 1:56 left, FDU's first lead since the opening minutes of the game. JU, after missing four-straight free throws over the previous three possessions, got two key makes by Robert McCray V to tie the game back up at 83. FDU split a pair of free throws to go up by one, but McCray answered with a huge three-pointer that gave JU the lead for good. The lead grew to six on a DeeJuan Pruitt dunk and a pair of free throws by Bryce Workman, but a three-pointer by FDU made it a one-possession game again with 14 seconds left and Workman hit one-more big free throw with three seconds remaining, prefacing the Knights hitting a meaningless half-court three at the buzzer.
 
The first half saw two big performances by players who JU has been waiting to break out. Jarius Cook hit a three-pointer 2:06 into the game to put JU up 7-5, a lead it did not relinquish until the closing moments of the game. He followed that up with another trifecta 30 seconds later and was fouled on another three-point attempt, making all three free throws to make it 18-9 Dolphins with 15:29 to play in the first.
 
Gyasi Powell also came alive, burying back-to-back threes, to push the lead to 24-9 with just under 14 minutes to play in the half. He finished the first half with four total behind the arc for 12 points, and JU led 52-45 at the half.
 
The three-point barrage continued in the second half, with Cook hitting his third and Workman sinking back-to-back from the left point to make it 69-57 JU with 10 minutes to play. Powell sank a pair of free throws to jump-start a 6-0 run, with McCray earning a hard layup and then rattling in a turnaround free throw line jumper to push the lead to 16, 77-61, with 7:56 left.
 
From there FDU started its run by hitting three three-pointers, before JU made the plays at the end to win it.
 
COACH'S COMMENTS

 

UP NEXT
 
Jacksonville returns home to host Campbell on Wednesday for Healthcare Appreciation Night. Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m. at Swisher Gymnasium.
 
NOTABLE NUMBERS
 

• Jacksonville won its first game decided by less than nine points this season
• Gyasi Powell set a career-high with 17 points and five made three-pointers
• Jarius Cook had a JU career-best 14 points and DeeJuan Pruitt matched a season-high with eight rebounds
• The 12 made three-pointers by the Dolphins were a season-high and the most in a game since Jacksonville State on January 14, 2023 and just the second time under Head Coach Jordan Mincy that the team has made that many in a game