JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Jacksonville University men's basketball battled throughout, but fell 65-58 to North Florida on Saturday night at UNF Arena.
 
The Dolphins (12-11, 5-7) suffered consecutive defeats for the first time in ASUN Conference play this season.
 
JU started the night much better than two nights prior at home, matching the Ospreys blow for blow in the early going. Kevion Nolan hit a three-pointer with 11:11 to play in the opening half, Jordan Davis got a steal and a fast-break layup and Nolan collected another takeaway, feeding Osayi Osifo in transition, who made one of two free throws after drawing a foul to put JU up 16-11.
 
UNF cut it to one a few minutes later before another run by the Dolphins. Mike Marsh converted an offensive stick-back, Nolan hit a layup and then got a steal, finding Osifo on the other end for an easy dunk and forcing a UNF timeout after building the lead to 22-15 with 7:32 remaining in the opening stanza.
 
The Ospreys came out of the break and answered with a 10-0 run, never trailing again the remainder of the night. A three-pointer to end the half gave UNF a seven-point halftime lead, 35-28
 
JU chipped away throughout the second half, eventually rallying from an 11-point deficit sparked by a 5-0 personal run by Gyasi Powell, who sank a pair of free throws and buried a contested three to cut the score to 45-39. Omar Payne with four straight points of his own and Powell hit an elbow jumper to make it a two-point game with 10:54 left.
 
After a UNF dunk, Dylan O'Hearn made a tough layup in traffic to cut it to two again, but both teams went on extended scoring droughts until a UNF three made it a two-possession game. A Nolan made three cut it to three once again with 6:37 left, but the Dolphins could never get it any closer before falling to UNF for the second time in the last three days.
 
UP NEXT
 
Jacksonville returns home next Thursday to host Stetson, with tip-off set for 7 p.m. at Swisher Gymnasium.
 
NOTABLE NUMBERS
 

• Osayi Osifo scored in double-figures for a seventh consecutive game
• JU allowed a season-high 13 made three-pointers by the Ospreys
• The Dolphins turned 12 UNF turnovers into 21 points, a season-high vs. a D-1 opponent