JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – - Marcel White had just hit a seven-foot jumper from the baseline and drew a foul. His response after getting off the ground - an emphatic "Let's go."
And away the Dolphins went.
White's old-fashioned 3-point capped an 8-0 Jacksonville run as part of a 12-1 spurt to end the first half, and the Dolphins never looked back en route to an 92-64 dismantling of Thomas (Ga.) in men's basketball action on Monday evening inside Historic Swisher Gymnasium.
The Dolphins improve to 7-1 in their last eight games on campus.
White's conventional 3-point play gave the Dolphins their first lead, 28-27. He scored seven of the eight points during the spurt, and Jacksonville (2-2) outscored Thomas (4-4) 12-1 in the final 4:23 of the period to lead 32-28 at intermission. White tallied nine of the Dolphins' final 12 points and had 17 of his game-high 27 in the first 20 minutes.
White's 27 points are the second most in his career to go along with a career-high 15 rebounds, his first double-double. He was 10-of-11 from the free throw line and is 20-of-23 in the last two games, both Dolphin wins. White shot 7-of-11 from the floor, 3-of-5 from behind the arc and also contributed two blocks on the defensive end Monday.
"Especially on defense, but you gotta make plays on both sides of the ball," White said. "When you make plays, your teammates follow suit."
Kori Babineaux added 23 points, with 15 coming on 6-of-8 shooting after intermission, and a season-high six assists in the triumph. He was 9-of-16 from the field overall and 5-of-6 from the line. Darius Dawkins had 13 points, seven rebounds and three blocks.
The Dolphins outrebounded Thomas 49-41 overall and were plus-11 in the second half.
"The biggest difference (between the first and second half) was our overall effort and attention to detail," Jacksonville Head Coach Tony Jasick said. "In the first half, we came out very casual, and we paid for it. Thomas, give them a lot of credit, they did a really nice job to start the game."
After shooting nearly 50 percent in the first 16 minutes, Thomas, a NAIA Division II member, was 0-of-6, including 0-of-4 from deep, with a turnover to close the period. The Night Hawks, who played Monday's game as an exhibition, outscored the Dolphins 14-2 in the paint in the first 20 minutes to grab an upper hand as large as nine in the half, but Jacksonville clawed back at the free throw line, going 11-of-15, compared to just 1-of-4 by Thomas.
Jacksonville opened the second stanza with a 7-0 run, as a Dawkins trey increased the Dolphins' edge to double digits for the first time at 39-28. The Dolphins outscored the Night Hawks 60-36 after halftime, and the lead swelled to as many as 28. Jacksonville dominated Thomas in the paint after the break, outscoring the visitors 24-4. The Dolphins shot 53.8 percent (21-of-39) from the field in the final 20 minutes and had nearly as many makes (21) inside the arc as shot attempts (26) in the first half.
The Dolphins finished 25-of-34 from the charity stripe, while Thomas was just 10-of-22. Jasick's team has made 21 or more free throws in each win this season.
Jacksonville travels to Greensboro, N.C., to play three games in the Spartan Showcase, hosted by UNC Greensboro, from Nov. 27-29 inside Greensboro Coliseum. The Dolphins face IPFW on Friday at 4:30 p.m. ET.