CORAL GABLES, Fla. – The revamped Jacksonville men's basketball team, complete with 11 new faces, got its first taste of action Monday night in an 86-69 loss at the University of Miami.

Jaylen Jones, a transfer from Oakland, led the Dolphins in scoring with a 14-point night. He finished just two shy of his career-high. Freshman Hayden Wood also impressed in his debut as a 'Phin, notching 10 points on 2-4 shooting from deep. Wood connected on his first two makes from downtown, sparking an early JU lead in south Florida.

Behind sharp shooting from Enrico Borio, Wood and fellow freshman Evan Sterck, Jacksonville took a 12-8 lead over the home team. Three straight triples saw JU explode out of a 6-3 deficit.

At the halftime break, JU trailed just 41-35 to the Hurricanes in their first season under head coach Jai Lucas.

It was Jones who got the scoring started in the second half behind a make at the rim. A Miami run with less than 10 minutes to play however saw the Hurricanes pull away from the Dolphins, pushing the score to its final.

Jacksonville coaches and fans got a good look at the Dolphin roster overall in the game as 14 players saw action. The team's starting five saw four new starters flank returner Donovan Rivers. Jones, Wood, Sterck and Jason Thirdkill Jr. made up the first starting five of the season for head coach Jordan Mincy.

Sterck finished with nine points. Thirdkill was held scoreless but grabbed three boards. Rivers ended with two points after foul trouble plagued the junior big man. 

Returner and All-ASUN Preseason Team member Chris Arias ended the first game of his sophomore season with 12 points. The Jacksonville-native connected on three balls from range.

Late scoring saw sophomore Boise State transfer Chris Lockett Jr. light up the scoreboard to the tune of seven points. Lockett also grabbed two boards and stole one pass while going a perfect 3-3 from the charity stripe. Jacksonville's final five points of the night were all scored by Lockett.

Jaylen Jordon added six points in his debut, going a perfect 3-3 from the field. Allen Udemadu scored two points of his own. Freshman Michael Harper Jr. played a handful of minutes in his first college action.
 
While not newcomers, Jacksonville did see two players return from injuries suffered last year. Almost a year to the date, JU added point guard Simon Wheeler back to the fold. While still donning a knee brace, Wheeler scored two points, dished an assist and grabbed a rebound.

Returning from an elbow injury, Borio scored five points, stuffing in a 3-ball and two free throws. Borio also recorded one of the team's two blocks.

Jacksonville lost the overall rebounding battle 34-20 but did win the turnover battle ever so slightly, committing 14 turnovers to Miami's 15. Jacksonville also tallied one more steal than Miami, 8-7.

The Dolphins had a solid first half shooting night (43.3%) and even improved upon that number by shooting 50% in the second half. The team finished with a 46.6% shooting clip, but struggled at the free throw line, shooting 50% on 14 tries.

Jones, Wood, Sterck and the rest of the 'Phins return home to open the season at Swisher Gymnasium on Thursday, Nov. 6. Jacksonville will play host to Trinity College of Florida at 7:30, part of a double-header evening with the women's basketball team who play Florida Tech at 5:30.

COACH'S COMMENTS
On takeaways from the game: "We have 11 new guys," Mincy said. "And a lot of people counted us off. A lot of our guys were hurt (postgame). I was surprised. We had guys who acted like we just lost a championship. For me, I told them that I loved them. We have guys of character and guys that understand. We have guys that played their first game of the season at a high-major and they feel like this is the end of the world. I want to coach those type of guys. I want to coach those type of men. It is not a moral victory, but that Miami team will allow us to be better and compete in our conference."

On the figuring out the new-look roster: "When you have all these young men coming from all these different programs, you never know who you are going to get," Mincy said. "I told our staff that we must find a certain group of guys and lineups to play. You take a guy like Chris Lockett who at the end of the game was highly impressive. We put him at the point guard position. And he played backup point guard at Boise State. We are still trying to make adjustments."