Fort Myers, Fla. – The Jacksonville Dolphins dropped an opening round matchup against Mercer, in overtime, 90-89 to open the Fort Myers Tip-Off tournament.
The Dolphins (3-3) led for most of the contest but faltered late and ultimately dropped themselves into the tournament's third place game against Siena who lost its opener to Miami (OH).
How It Happened
Jacksonville won the tip and immediately got to scoring, going up 5-0 in the game's opening minutes. Mercer tied things at seven before JU pulled away and earn a lead as high as 13-points before going into halftime up 40-30. At the break, Kendall Munson had nine points and a pair of boards to pace the scoring effort. Stephon Payne III grabbed a team-high six rebounds while Robert McCray V led the Dolphins with a duo of assists.
Out of the break, JU kept its foot on the gas and went up 48-32 in the first 2:30 minutes of the final frame. Over the next seven minutes, the Dolphins hit just three shots from the field and allowed the visiting Bears to crawl back and get the game to a 57-53 JU advantage.
A Payne slam, a Jakari Spence and-1 and a Zach Bell layup sparked the Dolphin offense right up after the 10-minute mark which kept their squad ahead, this time by 10.
Over the next five minutes however JU hit just one shot to Mercer's six to give the orange and black a 67-66 lead. McCray hit a triple and Spence connected on two free throws to take a 73-69 lead with just 32 ticks left. Munson hit a single free throw, placing his team up 74-71 before Mercer hit a dagger corner 3-pointer to send the game to an extra five-minute period.
In overtime, JU retook the lead five separate times but was unable to shut the door on Mercer. McCray hit a three pointer as time expired to end the game.
Despite the outcome, JU had a productive day offensively with all five starters hitting the double-digit scoring mark. It was the first game since the 2023 opener against Johnson that JU saw at least five players score 10 or more points.
McCray finished with a team-high 20 points. The junior also added eight rebounds, five assists and two steals. Munson scored 14 points to go along with six boards. Bell hit 13 points and four rebounds. Both Payne and Spence tallied 11 points.
Off the bench, Zimi Nwokeji scored 11 on 3-6 shooting from deep.
Payne hit his career-high in rebounding (13) for the third time this season. The baker's dozen boards by the Jacksonville-native allowed JU to outrebound Mercer 41-31. So far this year, Jacksonville has yet to lose a rebounding battle.
Due to the game's elongated nature, McCray tied his career-high in minutes played with 41. Bell played a career-high 37 minutes. Spence played the most minutes of his JU career with 34.
Game Notes
- Stephon Payne III notched his second double-double of the season.
- Jacksonville knocked down eight triples in the game.
- Six Jacksonville players scored 10 or more points.
- The Jacksonville defense forced 18 turnovers.
- Jacksonville cleaned up on the offensive glass, collecting 20 offensive boards.
- Jacksonville's 20 offensive rebounds turned into 22 second chance points.
Next Up
JU will conclude its time in the Fort Myers Tip-Off tournament against Siena at 11 a.m EST. The Dolphins will return home for Thanksgiving before departing for Athens, Ga. to face the University of Georgia on Saturday, Nov. 30.
