FT. MYERS, Fla. – In the highest scoring game in over a decade between Jacksonville and Florida Gulf Coast, the Dolphins fell 86-84 in a highly contested battle for the ages. The loss pushed JU to 10-18 overall and 5-10 in ASUN play with three regular season games to go.
One would have to go all the back to 2014 to see a game this high scoring between the two usually defensive-minded squads. On Wednesday, all bets were off as scoring was the name of the game for both sides.
Hayden Wood led the Dolphin contingency in South Florida, finishing second in the game with 23 points. Wood knocked down a career high nine shots and ended his night 9-13 from the field. His nine makes were the most in the game. His final score total was just two shy of his career high and his 10
th conference game in double-digits.
The freshman Wood was joined in scoring by 16 points each from forwards
Donovan Rivers and
Jason Thirdkill Jr. The pair combined for a 13-16 shooting night, with Thirdkill adding a team-high eight boards. Thirdkill now has eight ASUN games with eight or more rebounds.
Wednesday night's game in Alico Arena was the exact opposite of the previous meeting between the two programs which ended with just 49 points scored from JU. At halftime, Jacksonville had 42 total points.
The 'Phins scored first in Alico, later going up 6-4 for their largest lead of the highly contest first half. FGCU had its own scoring answers, taking a seven-point lead with about 13 minutes left to play. With 11:15 on the clock, FGCU got the lead up to nine. Jacksonville closed the half well, but couldn't recapture the lead, going into the break down 46-42.
Out of the break, the Dolphins came out hot and tied the game after their first two possessions. JU then took the lead once more, up 55-54, with 14:24 to play.
At the 5:23 mark, FGCU got the game back to a nine-point advantage, but Jacksonville was not to be denied. With under a minute to play, a
Jaylen Jones layup saw his team down six. With 24 ticks left, Wood nailed a corner triple to push the game to 80-77 in favor of the home team.
With 14 seconds left, Thirdkill nailed his lone 3-point make of the evening to get his side within two. Wood was later fouled on a 3-point attempt with just five seconds left. He made his first two but his intentional miss ended up in the hands of FGCU.
Free throws by Jones and
Evan Sterck found a way through the nylon, but dueling fouls by both teams kept the FGCU lead at two and forced the game to its final.
Jacksonville uncharacteristically lost the battle of the boards, 35-24. Behind Thirdkill's eight, Jones was second on the team with six. The point guard Jones ended his night with 14 points of his own and a game-high four assists. Jones' four dishes were tied for his best effort in conference play this season.
Defensively, JU was stalwart from behind the arc, allowing just a trio of 3-point makes from FGCU. That mark was their lowest of the 2025-26 season.
Despite late free throw makes, Jacksonville didn't have its usual free throw shooting prowess, finishing 14-26 at the line (53.8%). It was the team's worst free throw shooting night since the last time the two programs saw one another five games ago.
Wood led the team in minutes played with 37 – a career high – followed by 33 from both Thirdkill and Jones. Jacksonville did see seven total minutes from
Enrico Borio, who hadn't seen game action in almost exactly a month. On Borio's first possession in, he grabbed a rebound, which was just the third board for JU at the time.
For the Eagles, big man Isaiah Malone scored a career high 24 points Wednesday night. He helped his side win their ninth straight against JU, and extend FGCU's home winning streak over Jacksonville to nine games.
JU finishes its season with its final two home games of the year, starting Saturday Feb. 21 in a rematch with Austin Peay at 7 p.m. A Feb. 26 rematch with Stetson follows to end the team's games within Swisher Gym for the regular season, before River City Rumble Round Two at UNF to end the year on Saturday, Feb. 28 at 6 p.m.
