Florida Sports Wire

Playing one of the closest games of the season, the North Florida basketball team outlasted Florida Gulf Coast for an 82-76 victory Saturday night in front of 4,138 fans, the fifth largest crowd in UNF Arena history. With the victory, UNF (18-6, 7-0) completed the first half of the Atlantic Sun Conference schedule undefeated and extended their overall win streak to a program record tying eight games. Additionally, the Ospreys have also won 18 consecutive home games. Beau Beech led the way for UNF finishing with 27 points and eight rebounds. Beech hit eight of the teams 13 three-pointers on the night as the Ospreys became the only team in the country with more than 300 treys made. Dallas Moore scored 18 points and handed out eight assists, while Demarcus Daniels chipped in 13 points and seven rebounds. Marc-Eddy Norelia had 25 points and seven rebounds to pace FGCU (13-10, 4-3), who have now dropped three straight games overall and to the Ospreys. "I'm really proud of

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Jacksonville University’s men’s basketball team took down Stetson 75-60 on Saturday with an impressive defensive performance, limiting the Hatters to 30.3 percent shooting and just 18.5 percent from three. “Tonight we were pretty good, for the most part,” said Head Coach Tony Jasick. “We had a couple of plays late that could have worked out a bit better, but when we were focused in it went well.” The Hatters would scrap their way to a 33-33 tie with 18:30 remaining with a 7-0 run, but JU responded with a run of its own, outscoring Stetson 10-3 over the next three minutes, leading 43-36 at the first media. The Dolphins’ defense locked in for the next four minutes, allowing just one bucket in nine attempts by the Hatters. Jacksonville’s lead would stretch to 16 points, 56-40, with two three-pointers by Darien Fernandez at 9:27. Stetson would claw back within 11 with 5:29 remaining, but would never get the lead under double digits. “Tonight we did a great job o

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The spell has been broken. After 11-straight setbacks, the Jacksonville University women's basketball team finally defeated Stetson, 69-49, at Swisher Gymnasium Saturday. Backed by double-doubles by Christin Mercer and Sherranda Reddick, the Dolphins shot 53.8 percent from the floor and outrebounded the Hatters, 42-26. The duo each tallied 18 points, and Reddick grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds, one more than Mercer. Jasmyn Brown tied her career-high with 16 points.

Florida came out firing from the start and continued bombing away until the finish of today’s 88-71 victory over ninth-ranked West Virginia in this year’s SEC/Big 12 Challenge at the O’Connell Center in Gainesville, Florida. The Gators (14-7) made 12 three-point field goals and shot 53.1 percent from the floor for the game against a Mountaineer defense that came into today’s game ranked first in the country in steals and turnovers, and second in the country in field goal percentage defense. Today, the Gators were making them with hands in their faces, wide open, it didn’t matter. And Florida, one of the worst free throw shooting teams in the country, was even making those as well – 24 of 31. Dorian Finney-Smith hit five of seven from long range, added five of six from the free throw line and finished with a game-high 24 points. Gator guard Brandone Francis-Ramirez came off the bench to hit all three of his three-point attempts and finished with nine, and guards KeVaughn Allen

By MIKE BONTS COLLEGE BOWL NEWS Judge Michael B. Chavies was installed as the Orange Bowl Committee's 78th President and Chair. Judge Chavies has been a member of the Orange Bowl Committee since 2000 and succeeds Immediate Past President & Chair Lee Stapleton. Judge Chavies will oversee the Committee’s continued commitment to the South Florida community, including a full slate of events, highlighted by the 83rd Capital One Orange Bowl on Dec. 31, 2016. The Orange Bowl invests nearly $1 million in the South Florida community on an annual basis, funding a variety of programs and initiatives, including the Orange Bowl Youth Football Alliance presented by Sports Authority, various scholarship programs and many other youth athletic events. "It has been my privilege for many years to serve on the Orange Bowl Committee and I am honored that my fellow members have entrusted me to serve in an even greater capacity as president," said Chavies. "I feel fortunate to t

O'Reilly By MIKE BONTS Jacksonville SportsDay Flagler College senior right-handed pitcher Mike O’Reilly was selected to the Preseason All-Peach Belt Conference Baseball Team which was released this morning by conference officials. O’Reilly was selected to the NCBWA Preseason All-Southeast Region First-Team last Saturday. Last year, O’Reilly led the staff with a 2.89 earned run average and posted a 7-3 record with one save and he tossed three complete games. He was selected as the PBC’s Pitcher of the Year and earned first-team all-conference honors as well as being a consensus first-team all-region pick. O’Reilly struck out a staff-best 94 batters in 93.1 innings of work.  O’Reilly led the Peach Belt in shutouts (2); was second in wins, complete games and innings pitched; third in ERA; fourth in strikeouts; and sixth in games started (13). He was selected as the PBC’s Pitcher of the Week two times last year.  Flagler will open the 2016 season on the road with a three-g

The Jacksonville Jaguars announced today that defensive line coach/run game coordinator Todd Wash has been promoted to defensive coordinator. Wash, who has 20 years of coaching experience, including nine seasons in the NFL, was named the Jaguars defensive line coach on January 28, 2013, adding run game coordinator to his title prior to the 2015 campaign. Wash and Head Coach Gus Bradley had previously coached together at Seattle (2011-12), Tampa Bay (2007) and North Dakota State (2002-03). Also among the coaching changes, Tony Sorrentino was promoted to assistant wide receivers coach, Aaron Whitecotton was promoted to assistant defensive line coach and Daniel Bullocks, a former NFL safety with the Detroit Lions (2006-09) and coach at Northern Iowa (defensive backs, 2012-14) and Eastern Michigan (cornerbacks, 2015), has been hired as the assistant defensive backs coach. The team also announced that Gus Bradley, who is entering his fourth season as the Jaguars head coach, has sign

SPARTANBURG, S.C. - The men's basketball team of Jacksonville University defeated  the Spartans of USC Upstate 77-68 on Saturday afternoon, earning its second road win  of the season. "I thought the first half we lived in the paint with the ball, which was key to winning this game," said Head Coach Tony Jasick. "Upstate is really effective when  teams get casual and don't get into the paint, so penetrating into the paint was a  key for us in this game." Josh Adeyeye hit a huge three out of the halftime locker room, giving the Dolphins a 12 point  lead with 19:28 left in the game. Jacksonville briefly struggled from the field,  missing its next three shots as the Spartans fought back within seven, 39-32, with  17:27 remaining.  But two big threes from Marcel  White  got the Dolphins' lead back over double digits in just over a minute, and the lead  would grow to 16 with buckets from Antwon  Clayton,  J.R.  Holder,  White and Darien  Fernandez.

GAINESVILLE, Fla.- For the first time, the Florida football team will conclude its  spring practices with their annual spring game on a Friday night. The 2016 Orange & Blue Debut, presented by Sunniland, will be held at 7 p.m. on  Friday, April 8, in Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. Admission to the game will be free. In addition, Florida's baseball game against Mississippi State at McKethan Stadium  has been moved up to 5:30 p.m. 

JACKSONVILLE – The Arena Football League and the CBS Sports Network have announced the schedule of the 2016 nationally televised games that will air on CBS Sports Network during this upcoming season. CBS Sports will broadcast 17 Arena Football games during the regular season and the 2015 American Conference Champion Jacksonville Sharks will appear in four of them. The Sharks first 2016 appearance on CBS Sports will take place on Monday, April 11th at the Philadelphia Soul. CBS Sports will broadcast at Sea Best Field June 4th at 7 p.m. as the Sharks take on the Soul again. The Sharks vs. rival Orlando Predators at Sea Best Field Saturday, June 18th will also be nationally televised by CBS Sports.  The Sharks last CBS Sports broadcast game of the regular season will be on the road against the Arizona Rattlers Saturday, July 9th at 9:30 p.m. The partnership with CBS Sports continues to allow our fans from around the nation the ability to follow the Sharks during the 2016 season and

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Jacksonville Armada FC announced its 2016 North American Soccer League regular season schedule for both the Spring and Fall Seasons. After opening on the road against the NASL’s defending champions, the New York Cosmos, on Sunday, April 10, the Armada will return to Jacksonville for its home opener at 7 p.m. on Friday, April 15 against expansion club Miami FC. In all, the Armada will play a total of 32 NASL matches – 10 in the Spring and 22 in the Fall. All of Jacksonville’s home matches will be played at Community First Park at the Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville.  Other home matches in the Spring include a tilt with FC Edmonton at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, May 4 and Saturday home games against expansion club Rayo OKC (7 p.m. on May 7), Indy Eleven (7 p.m. on May 28) and in-state rivals, the Tampa Bay Rowdies (7 p.m. on June 11), to round out the Spring home schedule. Jacksonville will have open dates in the league’s opening weekend on April 2 and on Apr

Senior Kori Babineaux scored 21 points and Jacksonville University had four players in double figures as the Dolphins picked up their first Atlantic Sun Conference win of the season beating Kennesaw State 83-70 Thursday. Babinueax, a guard from Folsom, Calif., led a second-half JU charge scoring 13 of his points in the second half as the Dolphins (9-10, 1-1) won their ninth consecutive home game. It was his seventh 20-point game of the season. Teammates J.R. Holder with 18 points, Josh Adeyeye with 15 and Marcel White with 14 joined Babineaux in double figures and they offset a 25-point night from Kennesaw's Kendrick Ray. The Dolphins overcame the loss of 3-point specialist redshirt junior Darius Dawkins who was injured in the first half. Coming in to the game, Dawkins led the nation in 3-pointers made with 68. He had a pair before going down in the first half. "Give our guys credit,'' JU head coach Tony Jasick said. "When you lose a player lik

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Jacksonville Armada FC announced on Wednesday the signing of attacking midfielder Junior Sandoval. A 25-year-old from Quimistán, Honduras, Sandoval arrives in Jacksonville after a stint with Colombian Primera A side Jaguares de Córdoba, where he made 14 appearances, scored one goal and became only the third Honduran ever to play in the Colombian first division. “Junior is an attack-minded player who is very good technically,” said Tony Meola, Armada FC head coach and technical director. “He’s scored goals in this league, and when we had the opportunity to bring him in, we just thought it added another dimension to what we could do.” Prior to joining Jaguares, Sandoval made a name for himself with the Atlanta Silverbacks on both the first team and reserves. In the Silverbacks’ 2014 campaign, he scored seven goals in 24 appearances, only second on the team that season behind Jaime Chavez. The Armada will start preseason training on Jan. 18 and host thre

Jalen Jones scored 26 points and Danuel House added 22 to help Texas A&M (14-2, 4-0 SEC) defeat Florida 71-68 for their seventh straight win. Florida (10-6, 2-2 SEC) never led after halftime. Dorian Finney-Smith led the visitors with 17 points and Justin Leon had 16. The Gators' KeVaughn Allen, who averages 10.5 points a game, was held scoreless. The undefeated streak in SEC play is te Aggies best league start since going 4-0 to open Big 12 play in 2006-07. The Aggies are 10-0 on their home court. The winning streak is the longest since winning 13 straight in 2010-11.

NEW YORK   - The North American Soccer League (NASL) announced Monday that it has suspended its operation of the Atlanta Silverbacks for the 2016 season and possibly beyond. "The goal all along has been to secure committed local ownership in Atlanta, but despite significant conversations with a number of interested parties, we were unable to identify a group that could lead the Silverbacks in a direction consistent with the rest of our clubs," said NASL Commissioner Bill Peterson. "It's unfortunate, and particularly sad for the Silverbacks' passionate fan base, which has supported the club tremendously throughout the years." Originally founded in 1998, the Silverbacks joined the NASL for its inaugural season in 2011, and were operated by the league last season while it searched for a long-term local ownership group. Silverbacks President and General Manager Andy Smith, who had been with the club for four of its five NASL seasons, took a moment Monday t

By MIKE BONTS Jacksonville SportsDay Jacksonville University dropped their opening Atlantic Sun Conference men's basketball game of the season Saturday night losing the first round of the River City Rumble 83-68 to North Florida. The Ospreys (12-6, 1-0) were led by senior Demarcus Daniels who matched a career high with 22 points, while also pulling down 10 rebounds.  Chris Davenport also tallied a double-double with 12 points, 11 rebounds. UNF also got double digit performances from Dallas Moore (13), Nick Malonga (13) and Aaron Bodager (11).  "We guarded extremely well tonight," said head coach Matthew Driscoll. "I felt like our preparation was the difference in the game. We had some great practices earlier this week and the guys executed our game plan." The Dolphins (8-9, 0-1) saw a game-high 30 points from Kori Babineaux. Babineaux was 13 of 29 from the floor while collecting seven rebounds. Darius Dawkins had 17 points, hitting 4-9 treys, and Marc

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Jacksonville Armada FC announced on Thursday it will battle three Major League Soccer opponents during February preseason action at Community First Park at the Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville. In addition to taking on the previously announced Philadelphia Union at Community First Park on Saturday, Feb. 6, the Armada will also host in-state rival Orlando City SC on Saturday, Feb. 13 and the New York Red Bulls on Saturday, Feb. 27. All three preseason matches will kick off at 6 p.m. “Part of our thinking (with scheduling three MLS teams in the preseason) was to challenge our guys right outside of the gate,” said Tony Meola, Armada FC head coach and technical director. “These games will obviously be good for us. It will allow us to evaluate our players against strong competition.” The Armada will open up their preseason and the home MLS tripleheader with the previously announced matchup against the Union at Community First Park on Feb. 6. Jacksonville def

The Orlando Magic announced today that the organization has begun the process of bringing an NBA Development League (D-League) franchise to Central or Northern Florida. The franchise would be a direct one-to-one affiliate of the Orlando Magic, with the hope of beginning play for the 2017-18  season. The franchise  is sending an RFP to eight locations seeking the best home for the Development League club.  Locations receiving the initial RFP include: Daytona Beach (Ocean Center); Estero (Germain Arena); Fort Myers (Lee Civic County Center); Jacksonville (Veterans Memorial Arena); Kissimmee (Silver Spurs Arena); Lakeland (Lakeland Center); Orlando/ESPN Wide World of Sports (HP Field House); Orlando/UCF (CFE Arena). "Our goal is to have our Development League team closer to home, and we are beginning our due diligence to look at options in Central and Northern Florida," said Orlando Magic CEO Alex Martins. "Having our D-League team closer to Orlando would give us the

ST. AUGUSTINE – Vaughn McCall poured in a game-high 24 points but it wasn’t enough  as Flagler College’s second half comeback came up short in a 78-75 loss to  Francis Marion University in a Peach Belt Conference men’s basketball game Wednesday  night at Flagler Gymnasium. Francis Marion snapped a five-game losing streak to improve to 8-5 overall and the P atriots earned their first Peach Belt win of the season and is now 1-4. Flagler fell to 5-8 overall and 1-4 in conference play. Browning led the Patriots with 22 points and he grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds.  Mike Davis, Jr., added 20 points and had two blocked shots. Alante Fenner tallied a  game-high six assists and had four steals. Francis Marion forced 14 Flagler turnovers and turned those into 21 points. Kessler Bell added 11 points and six rebounds for the Saints. Austin Howard chipped in with 11 points and dished out four assists. Nick Grier finished with 10 points and six rebounds. Keith Gray contributed six poin

By MIKE BONTS Kurt Roper Jacksonville SportsDay South Carolina head football coach Will Muschamp has announced the hiring of Kurt Roper as the Gamecocks’ co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.  Roper comes to Carolina after spending the 2015 season with the Cleveland Browns as senior offensive assistant coach. He joined the Browns after spending 2014 as offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach at the Florida under Muschamp. Roper brings 19 years of experience on the collegiate level, including 13 in the Southeastern Conference, and helped his teams appear in 11 bowl games.  “I’m excited to have Coach Roper joining the staff,” said Coach Muschamp. “He’s been a play-caller in the SEC, has experience in working with and developing quarterbacks like Eli Manning and former Gamecock Connor Shaw, has an NFL background, and did a great job at Duke under David Cutcliffe. We are excited for what he offers.” Prior to his year-long stint in Gainesville, Roper spent six years c

North Carolina center Lucas Crowley, who played at Nease. (Photo by  Stephen Dowell) By MIKE BONTS Jacksonville SportsDay Entering the Russel Athletic Bowl in Orlando No. 17 Baylor was without its top two quarterbacks, leading rusher, and an All-American receiver. Baylor QBs Seth Russell (neck) and Jarrett Stidham (broken ankle), receiver Corey Coleman (hernia surgery), and running back Shock Linwood (broken foot) were all absent. Never the less, the Bears piled up an FBS bowl-record 645 yards rushing to upset 10th-ranked North Carolina, 49-38, before 40,418 at Citrus Bowl Stadium. The win was Baylor's first bowl victory since 2012, snapping a string of two consecutive bowl losses. Johnny Jefferson rushed for a school-record 299 yards and was named the bowl’s MVP. Jefferson made amends for a fourth quarter fumble in a 23-17 loss to Texas in the regular-season finale. "The big thing for me was the last game we played, I had a bad mistak