HIGH POINT, N.C. – The Jacksonville Dolphins dropped their second road contest of the year Tuesday night, 85-64, against High Point University.
Jacksonville had a strong first half, holding a lead over the defending Big South Tournament champions for almost the entire first 10 minutes of play. At halftime, JU was down just 44-37 after outrebounding and outshooting the Panthers from deep.
Despite big nights from sophomore
Chris Arias and freshman
Evan Sterck, the 'Phins couldn't match the second half scoring by High Point and fell in their first of three straight true road contests.
The first half of play was dominated by deep shooting from JU, as the Dolphins went 7-22 from beyond the arc. Arias led the charge with a 3-6 shooting mark, followed closely by freshman
Hayden Wood who went a perfect 2-2.
Wood's deep threat ability has shown in all three games this season as the frosh has at least two 3-point makes in all three games. Wood finished his night with seven points and three boards.
Jacksonville found its largest lead of the game behind an
Enrico Borio finish at the rim to go up 14-10.
At the turn, Sterck had been a major factor for the Jacksonville contingency. The freshman guard had a career-high six assists by half and added five points in a team-high 18 minutes. Sterck and Wood have started all three games so far this season.
By game's end, Sterck had nine points to go along with his six dishes and three rebounds. Arias finished with a team-high 13 points, matching his highest point total so far this season which he set against Trinity College of Florida. In all three games, Arias has scored at least 12 points and made at least three 3-pointers.
In the paint,
Donovan Rivers was a monster, notching a nine point and nine rebound game. Rivers finished just two points shy of his career-highs in scoring and rebounds. The nine boards secured by Rivers were part of a 43-rebound effort by the team in green, outrebounding the hosts by five. Jacksonville has won the rebounding battle in two of its three games so far.
Chris Locket Jr. added nine points of his own to go along with four rebounds.
Jaylen Jones added seven points and four boards himself.
Jacksonville again went deep into its bench Tuesday night, playing 12 total Dolphins. Freshman
Michael Harper Jr. appeared in his third straight game as did guard
Anakin Brown.
As a team, the 'Phins finished the game shooting 36.7% from the field with nine makes from beyond the arc. The nine 3-point makes were the most of the season. The team's total rebounds were its second most.
The road trip continues for Jacksonville as the team makes its way further up the East Coast. JU will square off against Virginia Military Institute on Saturday, Nov. 15 before another game in Virginia, this time against George Mason on Tuesday, Nov. 18.
A two-game stand in Daytona Beach for the Sunshine Slam tournament follows before the Dolphins are back on home court against Florida A&M on Tuesday, Dec. 2.
