North Alabama Pulls Away from JU Dolphins in Second Half

FLORENCE, Ala. - Jacksonville University men's basketball was outscored by 19 points in the second half, falling 80-62 at North Alabama on Thursday night in CB&S Bank Arena.

JU (11-9, 4-5) did not trail in the first half and led by one at the break, but could not sustain that performance in the last 20 minutes.

The game began with JU scoring 13 of the first 15 points, prompting UNA to call a timeout after Mike Marsh hit a hook shoot to go up by double-figures just 3:22 into the game. From there, the Lions started to find some rhythm on offense, cutting the deficit to three halfway through the first.

JU kept them at bay, with a 6-1 run pushing the lead to 29-21 when Osifo hit a second-chance layup. He made a pair of free throws a few minutes later to keep the lead at eight, but the Dolphins struggled offensively down the stretch in the half, not making a field goal for the last 5:10. Dylan O'Hearn drew a foul and split a pair of free throws with three seconds left to give JU a 33-32 lead at the half.

The second half started well, with Kevion Nolan driving all the way in for a finger roll to push the advantage to three, but UNA quickly tied it. Marsh hit another hook shot, but once again, UNA responded to tie it. After Nolan was called for an offensive foul, the Lions drew another one on the other end and made both free throws to go in front with 17:13, a lead it would not relinquish.

JU kept it to single digits until a fast-break three-pointer made it 52-42 with 12:14 to play, and the lead grew to 16 over the next four minutes while Nolan picked up his fourth foul and went to the bench. The Dolphins tried a rally, with Jarius Cook swishing a corner three and Gyasi Powell burying three-pointers on consecutive possessions to trim the deficit to nine with 6:34 left. UNA called timeout and came out by scoring five quick points to push the lead back to 14 and never looked back.

Jacksonville travels to Central Arkansas to face the Bears in Conway for the first time as conference foes on Saturday. Tip-off is scheduled for 5 p.m.