LOUISVILLE, KY -- Jacksonville University defeated Bellarmine Thursday, 74-59, in thr first ASUN road game of the year for the Dolphins.
The Dolphins (8-7, 2-1) took an early lead following the tip and kept that lead until the final buzzer. The win was JU's second consecutive wire-to-wire conference win.
Three Jacksonville players hit double-digit scoring, led by a game-high 15 from Robert McCray V. McCray went 6-12 from the field while adding five rebounds, five assists and three steals. Jakari Spence added 12 points of his own and nine rebounds while Chris Arias connected on three balls from deep to tally 11 points.
Spence's nine boards were a career-high and just one shy of his first career double-double. Stephon Payne III also came just short of a double-double, putting up eight points and 10 rebounds. Payne's rebound total was his highest since the team's overtime loss to Mercer.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Zach Bell got the scoring going early with a jumper just 30 seconds into the game. Jacksonville kept Bellarmine at bay for most of the half before ballooning its own lead to 14 points with about five to go in the opening frame.
The Knights hit a 3-pointer at the first half buzzer to cut into JU's lead but the Dolphins still held Bellarmine to just 28 first-half points. That total was Bellarmine's lowest in three conference games.
Out of halftime, Bellarmine started to heat up from beyond the arc and got the game to within just two points after a 10-2 run at the 11:57 mark.
After the Knights got the game to within a bucket, McCray hit back-to-back triples to put Bellarmine down for good. Arias and Kent Jackson hit threes during two of the following three possessions which accounted for a pair of the team's 11 makes from downtown.
McCray, Arias and Zimi Nwokeji all hit a trio of three-pointers.
With 25 seconds to play, Payne threw down a two-handed flush to push the game to its final and give Jacksonville its first road conference win of the season. Last season, JU went winless in confernce play but is already 1-0 to start this season.
JU handily won the rebounding battle 39-26. The Dolphins outshot Bellarmine 44.3% to 39.6%, outassisted the Knights 14-10 and won the turnover battle 14-9.
Bellarmine's 59 total points was the lowest scoring output by the team in conference play.
COACH'S COMMENTS
"I was proud of our guys. We talk about winning by committee and I think the box score speaks to that," head coach Jordan Mincy said. "We had a couple guys who showed up in different courses of the game. Our guys were able to understand these guys were going to make a run. But our guys are resilient. Across the board, every guy stepped up tonight. When you just let them play, they know what to do. They trust one another. They did a great job tonight playing out the offense and trusting one another."
GAME NOTES
- The Jacksonville bench came alive by adding 25 points to its scoring output.
- Jacksonville cleaned up on the offensive glass, collecting 16 offensive boards.
- Kendall Munson scored nine points, his highest output since facing Florida Tech.
- Bellarmine was allowed to grab just seven offensive rebounds.
- JU had 28 points in the paint and 12 points from fast break opportunities.
NEXT UP
Jacksonville continues its tour of Kentucky on Saturday when the Dolphins face off against Eastern Kentucky. Tipoff against the Colonels is set for 4 p.m. Eastern Time and will be streamed on ESPN+.
