JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Trent Mackey's two free throws with two seconds left ensured North Florida's 81-80 victory over Jacksonville as the Ospreys clinched their second consecutive Atlantic Sun regular-season title on the final night of league play Thursday.
The Dolphins trailed by 18 with 10 minutes left before rallying within two on Darien Fernandez's layup, but Jacksonville had to foul with Mackey making both from the line before Marcel White hit a 3-pointer as time ran out.
"I give those guys credit that were out there and made the comeback credit, said Dolphins head coach Tony Jasick. "I appreciate their effort tonight."
North Florida (21-10, 10-4) swept the season series from the Dolphins (16-15, 8-6) and won the last five meetings. Jacksonville finished in a three-way tie for second with Florida Gulf Coast and NJIT. The Osprey's have also locked up the No. 1 seed for the Atlantic Sun conference tournament.
Recommended Videos
"Our goal was to be the champions and the No. 1 seed," said Osprey's head coach Matthew Driscoll. "We're the champions and we're the No. 1 seed. So therefore we've handled that but now we need to move on as adults."
Dallas Moore led North Florida with 22 points with Demarcus Daniels adding 15, Mackey 12 and Chris Davenport 10. Both Daniels and Davenport passed 1,000 career points.
Kori Babineaux had 24 points, J.R. Holder 23 and Josh Adeyeye 14 for Jacksonville.