Florida Sports Wire

ATLANTA ( www.jaxsportsday.com )  -  Lillian Young was named the Atlantic Sun Player of the Week, the conference announced on Tuesday afternoon. Young, a freshman from Lebanon, Pennsylvania, scored both Dolphins goals last week against Bellarmine. She currently leads the team in goals and points and ranks second in the ASUN in goals scored and fourth in points.  The freshman has scored in five games this season, with the Bellarmine being her first game with multiple goals scored. She is the first Dolphin this year to be awarded with a weekly award from the conference.

 DURHAM, N.C ( www.jaxsportsday.com ) - The Jacksonville men's soccer team fell 3-1 against the fourth ranked team in the country, Duke, on Friday evening. A thrilling season opener saw the Dolphins square off against nationally ranked and 2022 NCAA tournament quarterfinalists in Duke. The matchup marked the highest-ranked opponent the Dolphins have faced in the program's history. Straight from kickoff, both teams showed strong defensive play, and created an intense first 20 minutes of action that featured back and forth action.As the match began to open up,  The Blue Devils launched a series of free kicks and three striking attempts, testing the Dolphins' defense. Yet, the Dolphins' early 'bend don't break' defense proved unyielding and stood strong against the ACC foe. The match carried on towards the halfway mark, and the Blue Devils seemed to settle into the match. JU sophomore then proceeded to pounce on a Duke mistake with just one minute remaining in...

DELAND ( www.sportsdayjax.com ) -  Jacksonville University baseball surrendered two runs in the bottom of the ninth to fall 6-4 to Stetson on Sunday afternoon at Melching Field. The Dolphins (30-21,14-13) dropped the series with the loss. "When you go on the road to win a series, you have to play well, and we did for 6.2 innings," said Head Coach Chris Hayes. "We put a lot of pressure on Leighton Alley and Chris Lotitio and those guys have been rocks for us all year. "You have to make plays, you have to make pitches and you have to hit and down the stretch, we didn't do any of them." Lotito came out for the second-straight day, with JU clinging to a 5-4 lead in the ninth. The first batter he faced popped out into foul territory down the third base line, and the next hitter also hit a weak fly ball. It tracked into shallow left field and fell between Tommy Joseph and Chase Malloy and the tying run was at second with one-out. A walk put two-on, and a double t...

  TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -  A first-inning grand slam and a four-out bottom of the ninth inning bookended Jacksonville University baseball's 5-4 win over Florida State on Tuesday night at Dick Howser Stadium. The Dolphins (20-10) hit two homers and got strong pitching all evening, stranding 12 Seminoles on base, including the bases loaded to end the game. "That is what you expect when you're on the road against a very good, well-coached team. You expect them to fight," said Head Coach Chris Hayes. "We didn't make it easy on ourselves, but the resolve and the resiliency that this group has shown is pretty special. It's an unwavering confidence that they can get the job done. We've seen it continue to develop all year." At the end, after Florida State had cut the deficit to two entering the ninth, it felt like things were breaking right for the Seminoles to win it. Chris Lotito was out to close it, but surrendered a leadoff single. He got the second bat...

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 J...

GREENVILLE, N.C. – JJ Gould belted his fourth home run of the season and Jacksonville totaled eight hits, but the Dolphins fell to East Carolina, 6-3, Thursday at Clark-LeClair Stadium. “I thought Nathan Disch had good stuff tonight but made a couple of mistakes that a nationally-ranked team will make you pay with,” said Head Coach Tim Montez. “I think these guys understand how close they are to being a good, solid ball club. We need to be a mentally tougher now that we’re on the road, because we were in that right until the last pitch, and this series is a good test for all of our club.” Gould’s long ball was a solo shot that came with two-outs in the first inning. ECU (15-7) answered with an RBI single by Eric Tyler in the second. The Pirates took the lead in the fourth on a two-run home run by Bryce Harman. Jacksonville (14-7) scored two runs in the fifth inning thanks a two-out rally. Nathan Koslowski ripped a line drive single and Seth DeWitt reached on infield error. D...

FORT MYERS, Fla. – The Jacksonville University women's basketball team won its first-ever Atlantic Sun championship and earned a berth to the NCAA Tournament Sunday as sophomore Brandi Buie hit a jumper with three seconds to play to nail down a 56-54 victory over the two-time defending champions, Florida Gulf Coast. JU (22-10) fought back from a 13-point deficit to make it was a one-point game, the Dolphins down, at the 6:24, 4:40 and 1:10 marks of the fourth quarter, before freshman Jasmyn Brown split a pair at the free-throw line to tie the game at 54-all with 37 seconds left in regulation. Buie, the tournament's Most Valuable Player, scored the game-winning basket as time ran down. Buie finished the evening with a team-high 16 points while Sherranda Reddick added 11 and Briona Brown 10. All three were named to the Atlantic Sun All-Tournament Team.

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.  Ho...

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...

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...

TAMPA  – USF will go for its fifth straight win in its series with Jacksonville Wednesday at 7 p.m. in the Sun Dome. The two programs will meet for the 47th time, the third-most played series for the Bulls behind UAB (58) and Charlotte (53). USF leads the all-time series, 25-21, with a 13-7 advantage in Tampa, including last year’s 79-65 win on Nov. 29. USF (2-8) is looking to break a three-game losing skid and also is trying for win No. 600 in program history. The Bulls are 599-693 in 45 years of basketball. Jacksonville (4-6) is coming off an 81-74 loss at South Carolina State on Saturday and will be looking for its second road win of the season. Freshman Jahmal McMurray continues to lead the Bulls in scoring. The Topeka, Kan., native is averaging 12.3 points per game, which ranks 16th in the American Athletic Conference, the second-best among freshmen. He is coming off a game-high 13 points in USF’s latest game, a 65-46 loss to NC State. McMurray has scored in double-fig...

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. –  Looking to build on its best start ever, Jacksonville Head Coach Kerwin Bell wants his team to follow a simple plan- get better each week. “We’re trying to make sure we get better each week and follow the process of how to become a great football team and that is the desire every week to go out Tuesday through Thursday and be the best program in the country in preparation,” said Bell. “If you do that you’ll get better each week. We’re making sure this week that we have that attitude. I really believe that we will be a much better team this Saturday than we were the last five.” Bell has seen that progression each week and is planning on seeing the Dolphins (5-0, 3-0) take their next step Saturday.  This week’s opponent, Edward Waters College, brings a 2-5 record and a five-game losing streak to D.B. Milne Field for a 1 p.m. kickoff. “The new guys on the offensive line and young receivers are starting to mature and they aren’t making silly mist...

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. –  Jacksonville University held a press conference today at the River House on-campus to preview the Jacksonville Classic. Both presidents, athletic directors, head coaches, athletic staff members, local media, and even state representatives were in attendance. Jacksonville and Edward Waters College will play for the second time ever and first time since 2002, a 44-31 JU win, this Saturday at 1 p.m. at D.B. Milne Field. “This city is a beautiful city and is a football town in a football state. There’s no better way to bring two universities and the city together than to play on the gridiron and to showcase our student-athletes. It’s going to be exciting,” said Jacksonville Head Coach Kerwin Bell. Jacksonville accomplished the best start in its program’s history Saturday night with a 41-14 victory over Stetson to improve its record to 5-0 on the season. “This is a wonderful event for our city. We’re delighted this is happening for a whole host of reas...

NEWARK, Del. – Jacksonville kicker Brandon Behr kicked two second-half field goals and linebacker Justin Horton recovered a fumble in the end zone with 2:09 to play as the Dolphins beat Delaware 20-14 Friday. Behr, from Fleming Island, Fla., connected from both 42 and 41 yards as the Dolphins won a second half field position battle to capture their season opener. JU punter Ryan Giaratano kept the Blue Hens (0-1) bottled up with some pinpoint efforts which led to Behr's 42-yarder with 3:15 to go in the third. The Dolphin defense stifled Delaware and JU punt returner Terrance Bryant returned a kick 34yards  in the fourth quarter that led to Behr's 41-yard field goal and a 13-7 lead. Horton, from Clermont, Fla., then recovered a fumble by Blue Hen quarterback Joe Walker in the end zone on a hit by defensive lineman TJ Jenkins. "Our special teams were big time,'' JU coach Kerwin Bell said. "Special teams coach Kerry Webb does a great job,  Giaratano d...

JACKSONVILLE, Fla . –   Andris Misters  wasn't happy that Florida National guard Regan O'Rourke "hit a three in my face'' with 1:57 to play Sunday. His response? The junior from Jelgava, Latvia, put his Jacksonville University teammates on his back and scored eight of his team's last nine points as the Dolphins (1-1) beat the Conquistadors 72-61 at Swisher Gym Sunday for coach Tony Jasick's first win at JU. After O'Rourke's three-pointer pulled FNU to within 63-61 and wiped out a 14-point, it was Misters, and the Jacksonville defense, to the rescue. FNU didn't score again and Misters connected on a three-pointer with 1:28 to play to start putting the game away at 66-61. Teammate  Josh Adeyeye  hit a free throw and Misters then connected on five free throws to seal the win and overcome a 33.8 percent shooting from the floor game. "It was a crucial point in the game,'' Misters, who led all scorers with 22 points, said. "I di...