JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Jacksonville University men's basketball dropped its penultimate home contest to Bellarmine, 63-61, on Wednesday night at Swisher Gymnasium.
 
The Dolphins (13-15, 6-11) could not hold on to a late lead in front of a loud crowd and the first nationally televised audience in Swisher Gym history.
 
The night started strong. After the lead went back-and-forth early, JU got a layup from Gyasi Powell and Jordan Davis fed Omar Payne for a dunk to go up 11-9 with 13:37 to play in the first. Bellarmine tied it, but Dylan O'Hearn drilled a triple, the third of the night to that point for JU, to go back on top.
 
Later in the half, Powell went on a personal 5-0 run, hitting a layup and a three-pointer in succession to push the lead to 10, 27-17, with 4:33 to play in the opening frame, forcing the Knights to take a timeout. Bellarmine cut into the deficit, but the Dolphins still led by seven, 31-24 at the half.
 
Bellarmine got off to a strong start to the second half, and JU took an early timeout to settle things down. O'Hearn immediately hit a tough layup while drawing a foul, and converted the three-point play to make it 36-29. The two teams traded buckets in the ensuing possessions, but JU kept hitting threes, with O'Hearn making another to push the lead back out to eight, 41-33, five minutes into the second half.
 
Jarius Cook and O'Hearn hit back-to-back threes to build the lead to 11 points, the largest of the night for either team, with just over 10 minutes left. Mike Marsh hit a short two with 7:40 left to make it 55-47, but that is where the offense went cold.
 
Bellarmine went on a 9-0 run over the next 2:44 to take its first lead since early in the first half, and never trailed the rest of the night. Cook hit a turnaround to end the scoring drought with 2:20 remaining to cut the deficit to one, 59-58. The Knights made all four of their free throws down the stretch, and JU who two chances to take the lead or tie, but could not convert the big shot.
 
UP NEXT
 
Jacksonville hosts Eastern Kentucky on Friday night for Senior Night at Swisher Gymnasium. The game is scheduled for 7 p.m.
 
NOTABLE NUMBERS
 

• Dylan O'Hearn led the Dolphins in scoring, his 13 points the second-most he scored in a game this season
• Gyasi Powell pulled down six boards for the second-straight game
• JU made 10 three-pointers for the second-straight game and the third time total in ASUN play