GREENVILLE, S.C. -- The Jacksonville men's basketball team lost a tale of two halves game on the road to the Furman Paladins, 78-69, Monday.
Junior Guard Robert McCray V scored a game-high 26 and junior forward Stephon Payne III pulled down a tied-for-career-high 13 rebounds in the loss. Guard Zach Bell added 11 points of his own.
It was another big day down low for the Dolphins as JU tied the rebounding effort of Furman, 39-39. So far this season, the 'Phins have not lost a rebounding battle.
Payne pulled down six offensive rebounds to pace the Jacksonville offense which grabbed 15 boards and turned them into 14 second chance points. Both Zimi Nwokeji and McCray grabbed five rebounds. The JU bigs also put a season-high seven blocks, led by Payne with three.
How It Happened
The Dolphins started the game similarly to how it opened against Florida: going shot for shot with the home team. After playing to a 23-23 tie, Jacksonville went on a 6-0 run with 6:34 left in the first half, culminating in a bucket from McCray, to take a 29-23 lead. The Dolphins entered halftime with a 36-33 advantage. Jacksonville did most of its first half damage in the paint, scoring 18 of its 36 points close to the basket.
Bell and McCray each had nine points before intermission. Simon Wheeler had four assists.
Things flipped in the second half as separate scoring droughts by the Dolphins let the Paladins come back and take the lead for good. With JU up 41-40, Furman went on a 10-0 run and did not look back.
Furman eventually got the game to a score of 76-64 before Jacksonville went on a 5-0 run, finished off by a McCray layup to shrink the deficit to 76-69 with 26 seconds to go. Jacksonville capitalized on eight Furman turnovers in the second half, collecting nine points off those turnovers.
McCray put up 17 in the game's final frame on 50% shooting. He outpaced the rest of the team's scoring output of 16 points.
After shooting 42% from the field in the first half, JU shot just 32% to close the game.
Coach's Comments
"We had a scoring drought and they did a great job," head coach Jordan Mincy said. "Furman traditionally is a really good team. They have had a lot of success. We have to do a better job executing and not necessarily letting our emotions be dictated on whether we are making shots or not. We missed a couple through the course of the game. We have to refocus. If we hit like we did in the first half we would have walked away with a win. At the same time, it is a great teaching and learning lesson especially for our young guys."
Game Notes
- The Jacksonville defense forced 14 turnovers.
- Payne's 13 rebounds were the second time this season he hit his career-high.
- Jacksonville cleaned up on the offensive glass, collecting 15 offensive boards.
- Nwokeji and Kendall Munson each hit season highs in points with eight respectively.
Next Up
The Dolphins return home to the friendly confines of Swisher Gymnasium on Thursday, Nov. 14 to take on the South Carolina State Bulldogs. JU will be looking to avenge a loss to the Bulldogs last year (86-85, OT) that it suffered on the road. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m.
