JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Jacksonville Dolphins started their 2026-27 campaign in high flying fashion, dispatching Trinity College of Jacksonville 105-61.
JU moved to 12-0 all time against the Eagles and notched the program's 101
st 100-point performance during Monday night's win.
The Dolphins rolled out a fresh look lineup to open the year, pairing
Hayden Wood with newcomers
Jamie Phillips Jr.,
Caleb Williams,
James Morrow and
Sam Mbingazo.
Preseason All-ASUN honoree Phillips led all scorers with 18 points in his debut. She shot 7-11 from the field, leading the game in field goal makes while also adding two rebounds and an assist.
Williams and Morrow, both Jacksonville natives, had solid performances in their debuts. Williams scored 10 points while tossing six assists, tying his collegiate high. Morrow posted a dozen points and broke his career high in blocks with five. It was the first game since January of 2025 where a Dolphin had five blocks.
Down low, freshman big man Mbingazo added a trio a points with a game-high eight rebounds.
As for Wood, he scored 11 points with half a dozen rebounds.
Every Dolphin on the roster saw game action against the Eagles in total. Newcomer
Jaden Newell played 15 minutes with four rebounds and two dishes. Fellow big
Rex Stirling went for 11 points on 5-6 shooting from the field. Stirling, a transfer from Wofford, ripped down five rebounds with three assists.
Two of the team's freshman guards dazzled in their debuts in
Evan Roberts and
Lyndell Buckingham Jr. Roberts went for five points with five boards while Buckingham went for nine points, three assists and two rebounds.
Local freshman
Maddox Palmer scored a bucket in his homecoming game with four rebounds and two assists.
Overall, JU won the rebounding battle 50-17. Jacksonville also tallied 10 total blocks, with three coming from newcomer
Nehemiah Turner and two coming from Newell. To Turner's credit, the big man played 16 minutes and logged 16 points on 7-9 shooting.
Holdover from last year,
Evan Sterck, scored eight points and had six assists.
Jacksonville will pair up with TCJ once more this season when the Dolphins play host to the Eagles on Nov. 28. Before then, Jacksonville will first have to travel to the nation's top-ranked team in Florida, coming off a win over Miami on Monday night.
The Dolphins and the Gators clash on Thursday, Nov. 5 at 8 p.m. in Gainesville on SECN+.
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