JU loses late at Lipscomb

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Jacksonville University (15-12, 7-3 A-Sun) dropped a 93-92 decision to Lipscomb University (9-18, 5-5 A-Sun) Thursday night in Allen Arena. The Dolphins still sit tied atop the Atlantic Sun conference standings thanks to a loss by the University of North Florida at Kennesaw State University on Thursday.


“This was the first time in a long time that our team got out-toughed,” said Head Coach Tony Jasick. “Give credit to Lipscomb. They continued to play the game the right way. There’s no doubt in my mind that we took this one for granted a little bit. It’s a great lesson as you’re building your program; you can’t allow external factors to affect the way you play, and tonight we did.”

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Jacksonville opened up the second half with a 9-0 run, leading 52-40 with a little over 18 minutes left. Lipscomb fought back a bit, but at the 16-minute media timeout, JU led 58-45. The Dolphins kept a 10 point margin until the 10:27 mark, when Lipscomb cut the lead down to seven with an old-fashioned three-point play. That started an 18-8 run by the Bisons, who tied the game 77-77 with 5:45 left in the game. Lipscomb took the lead for the first time in the period, 80-77, at the 5:11 mark. The two teams traded the lead a few times, but Lipscomb was able to hit seven consecutive free throws to put the game out of reach. Marcel White hit a three at the buzzer, but the Dolphins still lost by one.


White led all scorers with 28 points on 10-18 shooting. The junior forward from Lake Wales, Fla., also had seven boards and a steal. Kori Babineaux had 25 points seven rebounds, and eight assists. J.R. Holder, who fouled out of the game with 1:16 left, had 19 points and six rebounds. Josh Adeyeye had 18 points, two rebounds, and two assists, and Antwon Clayton had two points, one rebound, and one assist.


White had the first basket in the game, scoring two of his 13 first half points on a tough layup around two Bisons. Lipscomb answered with a three and led briefly, but a 7-3 Jacksonville run gave JU a 9-6 lead at the first media stoppage. The Dolphins grew their lead to as much as 14, forcing the Bisons into a 3:35 scoring drought. With 9:13 left in the half, JU was up 27-14 over Lipscomb.


Back-to-back Bison threes gave Lipscomb life, and Jacksonville’s offense seemed to stagnate at the same time; the Dolphins made only two of the next 11 shots. With 1:40 left in the half, Lipscomb led 40-38 after outscoring Jacksonville 27-11. But a Holder three got the Dolphins back in front, and Babineaux hit a tough two to put the score at 43-40 at the half.


The Dolphins’ three game road trip concludes with a Saturday afternoon meeting at Kennesaw State, and then Jacksonville heads home to play the New Jersey Institute of Technology and the University of North Florida at home.


Tip-Ins
• This is just the second time Jacksonville has lost this season when leading with two or fewer minutes remaining. The other time was on Jan. 2, a 76-72 loss at Western Michigan University.
• This is the first loss the Dolphins have suffered when scoring at least 90 points this season.
• The Dolphins are 0-2 when allowing their opponent to score at least 90 points this season.