JACKSONVILLE, Fla.- The Jacksonville Dolphins men's basketball team fell 62-51 to Florida Gulf Coast University on Saturday night.

The Dolphins (12-13, 5-9) started the game hot from the floor. Kevion Nolan sunk a jump shot just 15 seconds into the contest, and Osayi Osifo made a layup a minute later to give JU the early advantage. A Mike Marsh free throw extended the early run at 5-0, but an FGCU triple from Isaiah Thompson halted the run there. Jacksonville responded with another run, this time a 10-0 push, and found themselves winning 15-3 with 15 minutes to go in the first half.

The Eagles paced a 19-6 run across the next nine-plus minutes to erase the deficit and claim their first lead of the evening with just over five minutes to go. The Dolphins had the last laugh in the first half though, as Omar Payne slammed in a Jarius Cook pass and Powell sunk a buzzer beater to give JU a three point edge at the break.

Both Jacksonville and FGCU matched one another's shots in the first 10 minutes of the second half. FGCU had a slight edge in the first 10 minutes, outscoring JU 17-15, and trailed by just one.

The back and forth action continued for the next five minutes. The Dolphins and Eagles found themselves exchanging the lead until 2:44 left in the contest. Kevion Nolan drained a two point jumper with 3:09 to go, and FGCU's Dakota Rivers responded with a triple to give the Eagles a two point lead. FGCU then held onto the lead, outscoring Jacksonville 9-0 the rest of the way to clinch the victory.

COACH'S COMMENTS



ADDITIONAL NOTES

In the contest, there were 11 lead changes and nine times the game was tied.
Marsh led the game in rebounds with eight.
Both Nolan and Marsh recorded double figures in points scored



UP NEXT

The Dolphins return to action next week as they begin a two-game road trip to Tennessee with contests against Austin Peay (Feb. 16) and Lipscomb (Feb. 18) on deck.