JACKSONVILLE, Fla.- The Jacksonville men's basketball team bounced back with a dominant 91-54 victory at home against the Trinity Baptist Eagles on Thursday night.

The Dolphins (7-4) never trailed as they cruised to their second win by at least 30 points this season. Jacksonville's impressive evening saw contributions on both sides of the court, with different faces taking center stage to lead JU. Four Dolphins—Stephon Payne III, DeeJuan Pruitt, Marcus Niblack, and Jalen Griffith—all scored in double figures. Redshirt freshman Josiah Sabino finished with eight points but led the team with a new career-high in rebounds at 10. His eight points are also new career and season bests.
 
In the first half, JU set the tone on the glass as they grabbed 29 rebounds to Trinity Baptist's eight. Both sides split in steals at four apiece, but the Dolphin defense held Trinity Baptist to 1-10 shooting from three-point range, allowing Jacksonville to take a 20-point lead into the break.

The second half is when the patented JU defense began to shine. While still maintaining a heavy advantage in rebounds, grabbing an additional 31, Jacksonville blocked eight shot attempts from the Eagles, as Sabino, Tito Deng, and Pruitt combined for six. The Dolphins also scored all 17 points off turnovers in the second half.
 
While Jacksonville didn't necessarily shoot well from behind the arc, they did find success down low with 54 points scored in the paint. The strong performance on the glass was also rewarded with an additional 29 second-chance points. The total team effort saw 10 Dolphins take the court, with nine scoring at least three points. The team also had an additional seven players grab at least five rebounds.

WHAT THEY SAID

 

UP NEXT

The Dolphins return to the court on Monday morning as they play host to Sun Belt foe, Louisiana -Monroe. Tip-off is slated for 11:30 in the morning, and the game can be streamed on ESPN+, or heard on the radio at 1010XL.

NUMBERS YOU SHOULD KNOW

• Josiah Sabino had a career night as he set personal bests in points (eight), rebounds (10), blocks (two) and assists (four).
• Stephon Payne III's 18 points is also a career best, with his previous best of 15 coming at his previous institution, Incarnate Word.
• DeeJuan Pruitt doubled his previous season high of nine points with 18 on the night.