CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – On the fifth and final leg of a five-game road trip, the Jacksonville Dolphins couldn't quite close the door on Austin Peay, falling 72-69 in a thriller of a contest.

A Jaylen Jones 3-pointer came up a little too tall for the 'Phins at the buzzer after a 16-point showing from the junior guard. With the loss, Jacksonville fell to 5-10 on the year and 0-2 to start ASUN play after an earlier loss at Lipscomb.

Saturday night's game featured eight lead changes and Jacksonville leading for almost nine total minutes of play. Contributing to those leads was the Dolphins garnering their second consecutive double-double by a big man, following Donovan Rivers' 10 and 10 showing against the Bisons.

Jason Thirdkill Jr. led the charge down low for the visitors, notching an 11-point and 10 rebound night. Thirdkill also added three blocks to lead the game which came just one short of his career high. To Rivers' credit, the junior forward finished just a single rebound shy of his second career double-double showing, dropping 14 points and coming up with nine boards.

Rivers and Thirdkill are first and second respectively on the team in boards. Rivers has also scored in double figures five times this season and has come up with five or more rebounds seven total times.

Jones scored the first bucket of the night for the Dolphins followed by three straight points from Thirdkill. Beyond the arc, Evan Sterck nailed back to back deep balls to tie the game at 11 apiece at the 14:50 mark of the first half.

Charles Caporaso laid one in to tie the game at 13 with Sterck following with his third straight 3-point make to tie the game once more at 16. It was then Caporaso who gave Jacksonville its first lead, 18-16, at the 11:29 mark which JU held for almost six whole minutes.

At the halftime break Austin Peay ended up in the lead, narrowly up 43-38.

Out of the break, as has been the case all season, the Dolphins came out with their fins on fire. Four straight points from Rivers and a layup by Jones erased the APSU lead and tied things up at 44 just 2:30 into the final half of play.

A triple by Thirdkill, just his seventh of the year, gave Jacksonville a 49-46 advantage and a sideline ready to explode with excitement. Chris Lockett Jr., Jones and Sterck traded blows on the Governor defense to continue to maintain Jacksonville's lead. At the 7:32 mark however, Austin Peay regained control and never gave it back up to those clad in green.

JU got the game to within two points, down 67-65, at the 3:15 mark and then down to just a single free throw with 19 seconds to play. Forced to foul, Jacksonville had to watch as two Austin Peay free throws found nylon with 17 seconds to play.

On the ensuing possesion the Dolphins advanced the ball past halfcourt and called a timeout before getting Jones to the corner for the potential game-tying triple.

While the loss represented the fifth straight game for the Dolphins, it was the closest game played by JU during the losing skid. Austin Peay, picked to finish fifth in the league and one spot ahead of Jacksonville, was also held to their lowest scoring output in three games by the JU defense.

During the game's final 5:11, Jacksonville held APSU without a made basket from the field (0-4 shooting).

The Governors' offense is largely led by sophomore ASUN All-Conference Player and former ASUN Freshman of the Year Tate McCubbin, who scored his second fewest points of the season against JU (six) while being held scoreless in the second half. Jacksonville also dominated the boards, 40-31, and outshot APSU in totality 47.1% to 40.0%.

Saturday's loss largely came at the hands of Jacksonville's 17 turnovers, its third most in a game all year, and an 11-20 showing at the free throw line. 

By game's end, Sterck tallied 12 total points on 4-7 shooting from range. It was his most points scored in a game since scoring 14 against FIU. The freshman was credited for eight assists, his most since dishing out 10 against Trinity College of Jacksonville, and his sixth game over five assists so far this year. Sterck's 56 total assists are fifth in the ASUN.

Caporaso contributed six points as did freshman Hayden Wood. Lockett finished with just his single 3-point make. Seven of the eight total Dolphins who logged minutes on Saturday scored at least one bucket.

Saturday's game was the final of JU's road trip, as the Dolphins make their long-awaited return to Swisher Gymnasium starting Thursday, Jan. 8.

JU hosts Queens on Thursday for a 7 p.m. EST tipoff before hosting West Georgia on Saturday, Jan. 10 at 3 p.m. EST. Both games will be streamed on ESPN+ and broadcast by radio on 1010XL/92.5 FM locally.