JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The Jacksonville Dolphins (9-15, 4-7 ASUN) men's basketball team travels to Carrollton, Georgia, to take on the West Georgia Wolves Saturday afternoon at 2p.m. EST.

This matchup marks the second meeting between these two schools this season and third meeting all-time. Jacksonville dominated the first game, winning 75-43 on January 10th inside Swisher Gym. The 32-point margin remains the largest in an ASUN conference game this season and represents the fewest points the Wolves have scored since joining Division I basketball.

West Georgia converted just 1-of-11 (9.1%) from behind the arc in the first meeting, marking season lows in both three-point percentage and makes for the Wolves. The Dolphins also held West Georgia to season lows in assists (four) and offensive rebounds (five). Additionally, Jacksonville committed only five turnovers, the fewest takeaways by the Wolves this season.

Last Time Out

Jacksonville fell to Queens on Thursday, 84-93. It was the most points allowed by the Dolphins to a conference opponent since Jordan Mincy took over in 2021, and the sixth most all-time, all against P4 schools. Despite defensive struggles, the Dolphins' offense found its rhythm in the second half, outscoring the Royals and recording a season-high 53 points.

Donovan Rivers tallied his third 17-point performance in the past four games, once again tying his career high in scoring. Despite making only three field goals, Rivers excelled at the free-throw line, hitting 11-of-14. Over his last four games, Rivers is 19-of-26 (73.1%) from the stripe. This also marked his highest free-throw percentage in a game in which he attempted more than two.

Against Queens, Chris Arias scored a game-high 18 points on 7-of-10 shooting, his highest field goal percentage this season. Coming off the bench, he played 22 minutes, his most since the conference opener against Lipscomb. Arias also grabbed a career-high seven rebounds, including two offensive boards that he quickly converted into four points.

Jaylen Jones, Hayden Wood and Jason Thirdkill Jr. also reached double figures in North Carolina. Jones snapped his seven-game streak of single-digit outings by going 5-of-8 from the floor and scoring 12 points. Wood continued his improvement at the line, making all four free throws and scoring a dozen points. After shooting just 55% in non-conference play, he is now shooting 82.6% in his last eight ASUN games (19-of-23) from the stripe. Thirdkill led the game with eight rebounds, his sixth game with eight-plus boards in conference play, and added his fourth double-digit scoring performance with 10 points.

Wolves By The Numbers

This season, West Georgia ranks ninth in offense, averaging 75.7 points per game, and eighth in defense, allowing 81.3 per game. They currently have the lowest scoring rate among ASUN teams, converting just 44% of their field goal attempts. Defensively, they allow opponents to shoot over 50% which is the highest in the conference.

West Georgia is currently on a three-game skid, with losses to Bellarmine, Austin Peay and North Florida. However, all of the games have been competitive, with two of the losses decided by one possession. The average margin of defeat over the past two weeks is only 4.7 points. After starting ASUN play 3-0, the Wolves have dropped seven of their last eight, with the lone win coming against Queens -- handing the Royals their first loss of the season and snapping their 7-0 conference start.

The Wolves are led by Shelton Williams-Dryden, who has earned three Player of the Week honors this season. Since conference play began, Williams-Dryden is averaging just under a double-double. He is posting 20.4 points and 9.5 rebounds per game, ranking first in total rebounds and second in points per ASUN game.

In the first meeting between the two teams, Jacksonville held Williams-Dryden to just eight points, his only single-digit outing in conference play and only the second this season. His 1-of-5 shooting marked season lows in both field goals made and field goal percentage (20%).

Six-Way Tie For Sixth

The Dolphins join the Wolves, and four other ASUN teams for a share of sixth place. FGCU, EKU, Stetson, and North Florida all join in contention. However, it won't be long before the ranking shifts with FGCU playing fifth-place Bellarmine, EKU and Stetson facing off and Jacksonville rematching with West Georgia.

Current ASUN Standings:
1 Austin Peay (10-1)
T2 Central Arkansas: (8-2)
T2 Lipscomb (8-3)
T2 Queens (8-3)
5 Bellarmine (5-6)
T6 West Georgia (4-7)
T6 FGCU (4-7)
T6 Jacksonville (4-7)
T6 Eastern Kentucky (4-7)
T6 Stetson (4-7)
T6 North Florida (4-7)
12 North Alabama (2-8)

Including today's West Georgia game, six of Jacksonville's last seven games will be against a team with four ASUN wins. The lone outlier is the ASUN front-runner, Austin Peay, at Swisher Gymnasium on February 21st.