STATESBORO, Ga. – Robert McCray V hit big shot after big shot in the last two minutes, fueling Jacksonville University men's basketball to an 81-79 win at Georgia Southern on Saturday afternoon at Hanner Fieldhouse.
 
In a back-and-forth contest late, McCray scored the final 10 points for the Dolphins (6-2), who won a fourth game in a row.
 
JU started strong, with Bryce Workman scoring in the post twice and Jarius Cook burying a pair of three-pointers from the left wing to take a 10-3 lead just over two minutes into the game. The Eagles rallied back to get it to a one-possession game, but JU kept them at bay until the game was eventually tied at 19 with 9:10 left in the first.
 
Gyasi Powell hit a three and Workman scored inside again to keep the lead, with McCray hitting his first three-pointer to make it 27-24 with 7:05 left, before Georgia Southern scored six-straight to take its first lead. The Eagles advantage grew to five, and JU made a few free throws to keep it close, until McCray sank another deep one to get it to 36-35 with 2:04 remaining in the opening half. JU's defense buckled down late in the half, forcing a turnover and a missed jumper, setting up Workman's three from the top of the key at the buzzer to give the Dolphins the 40-39 lead at the break.
 
Marcus Niblack made a couple of layups and McCray fed Stephon Payne III for an alley-oop in transition to build the lead to five, 50-45, five minutes into the second half. A possession in which JU had five chances at a shot ended with Cook scooping in a driving layup, with McCray scoring in transition and Gyasi Powell hitting a three-pointer to make it 57-48 with 13:17 left and forced a Georgia Southern timeout.
 
The lead grew to 10, 60-50, when DeeJuan Pruitt scored a putback after an offensive rebound, but the Eagles hit a three to start climbing back into it. They cut it to four points with 9:16 remaining, before Niblack found Donovan Rivers for two dunks to push the advantage back out to eight, 66-58, with 6:08 left. A 10-2 run brought Georgia Southern all the way back to tie it at 68 with 3:26 remaining.
 
With JU up one with 1:58 to play, McCray went to work. Two missed free throws for the Dolphins ended with an offensive rebound by Workman, and McCray drove straight inside to make a short jumper. After an and-one for the Eagles tied it again at 76, they got a stop and called a timeout, setting up a right corner three to go up 79-76. McCray came down and buried a right-wing three to knot it at 79. Georgia Southern made another three with 37 seconds left to go up again, and after a timeout, McCray buried a stepback three in the right corner to tie it one more time at 79.
 
Niblack picked up a steal and then threw the alley-oop to McCray to put the Dolphins in front for good, as the Eagles' corner three missed long to end the game.
 
COACH'S COMMENTS

 

UP NEXT
 
Jacksonville hits the road again next Wednesday, traveling to Orlando to face UCF on Wednesday for its second of three-straight games away from home. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.
 
NOTABLE NUMBERS
 

• Robert McCray V set a new career-high, with 32 points, and matched his career-best of four made three-pointers, which he did last against Georgia Southern on November 14. He is the first JU player to top 30 points since Bryce Workman had 33 at Stetson on February 20, 2021
• Marcus Niblack flirted with a triple-double, going for nine points, six rebounds and a career-best nine assists
• With 11 made field goals, McCray is the first Dolphin to hit the double-digit field goal mark in a game since Bryce Workman made 11 against Eastern Kentucky on February 9, 2022
• JU outrebounded Georgia Southern 36-23, and have now outrebounded its opponents in six of eight games this season (and hold a 5-1 record when doing so)
• The two highest rebound totals against D-I opponents this season have both been against the Eagles
• The 10 three-pointers made were the second-most in a game this year
• JU only turned it over 10 times, a season-low