The Dolphins defeated the Ospreys 54-51 in a Jacksonville inner-city rival game on Saturday afternoon. This was the 38th matchup between JU and UNF’s men’s basketball team, and JU leads the all-time series 20-18. The Dolphins improve their ASUN conference record to 3-0 as they improve their overall record to 11-4. UNF is now on a six-game losing skid where they drop to 0-4 in conference play, and drop to 4-13 on the season.
From tip-off to the last buzzer, the game was tightly contested, and both fan bases created an exciting atmosphere at UNF’s Arena. JU had gotten off to a quick 10-5 lead in the first four minutes of the game, but UNF rallied back late in the first half to take a 24-21 lead heading into halftime. With 19.4 seconds remaining in the ball game, UNF’s Carter Hendrickson was able to make it a one-point game (51-52) as he had a huge put-back layup. The Dolphins took care of business at the free throw line, extending it to a three-point lead (51-54) with just 2.8 seconds remaining. The Ospreys were able to get a good quality three point shot as time had expired, but the shot fell a tad bit short and hit the front of the rim.
The second half was all about paint production and physicality down low as both teams played with a lot of energy and intensity. The Dolphins dominated the Ospreys on offensive boards 13-7, but both teams neutralized each other with 26 points in the paint. The Ospreys defensively were dominant on the interior, notably by both freshmen forwards Johnathan Aybar and Jadyn Parker, as they combined for seven of UNF’s nine blocked shots. Both teams struggled from the perimeter as JU shot 3-13 from deep and UNF an abysmal 3-25 from behind the arc. In their last three contests, UNF has been cold from deep and have only connected on 13-78 from three.
After the tough loss, UNF Head Coach Matthew Driscoll told our own Brett James how much of an impact and luxury it is to have Johnathan Aybar and Jadyn Parker. Coach Driscoll said that “They have done a great job being a two-headed monster sorta speak- but they have done a really really good job playing together as far as that looks like.” FL Teams’ Brett James also asked about any positives that he had taken away from this game to implement into the next game vs. Kennesaw State. Coach Driscoll had this to say: “The way we guarded and the way in which we put them together in the first half, and especially in the first ten minutes of the second half. I think that was really really impressive what these guys did. It was about as good as a defense as a team of ours has ever played.”
The Ospreys will be looking to bounce back Monday evening vs. Kennesaw State, where UNF will look to break their six-game losing streak, as well as get their first ASUN conference win of the season.
(Featured image by OspreyMBB/Twitter)