JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Undeterred by Darien Fernandez's 31 points in his Atlantic Sun playoff debut, Lipscomb University (12-20, 7-7 A-Sun) defeated Jacksonville University (16-16, 8-6 A-Sun) 92-89 in the first round of the A-Sun tournament on Tuesday.
"Give our guys credit," said Head Coach Tony Jasick. "We got into foul trouble early, and they were still able to make a game out of it. These are both really good teams, we had a great environment here in Swisher, and that made this a pretty good game. Unfortunately for us it just wasn't quite good enough."
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Lipscomb won the overtime tip and scored first, sinking one of its two free throws after a foul by Fernandez. The two teams traded free throws for the next four minutes, and with just 14 seconds left, Lipscomb led by two, 88-86, and had the ball. The Dolphins fouled Nathan Moran on the inbounds play, but the veteran guard was able to hit two free throws to put the lead at four points. Marcel White hit a three to put the Dolphins back within one point, but there just wasn't enough time left. Moran hit two more free throws to seal the game, and the Dolphins missed their final shot after the buzzer sounded.
The Dolphins struck first in the second half, but 2-7 shooting plagued the team through the first three minutes. The Bisons took advantage, stretching their lead to seven points, 48-41, with 18:35 left in the game. Coach Jasick responded by subbing in Fernandez, who had shot 5-6 in the first half. The streaky guard continued his scorching pace in the second half, hitting two more threes to get the Dolphins back in the lead at 54-52. Jacksonville led by as much as seven, 69-62 with 9:29 left in the game.
Lipscomb outscored JU 18-11 over the final nine minutes of the half, and took a half-court shot with time expiring after Josh Adeyeye was called for an offensive foul. It missed the basket, sending the game into overtime.
"At the end of the day, we wanted one of three guys to get the ball, and one of them got it," said Jasick. "I'm not in a position to say anything about the call because I'm so far away, so it is what it is."
Fernandez destroyed his previous career high of 12 points Tuesday, scoring 31 points on 7-12 shooting. Marcel White had 24 points, Kori Babineaux had 13, and Josh Adeyeye had 10 points. J.R. Holder scored four points, and Cartree Pettis and Antwon Clayton each had two.
"I wish the season wasn't over, because [Darien] has continued to play better and better every time out," said Jasick. "His confidence has grown, and that's made us a better team. I'm excited about getting to coach him more this summer and next season."
Lipscomb won the opening tip, and started the game with white-hot shooting. The Bisons jumped out to a 15-5 lead in the first four minutes, and led by at least six through the first 11 minutes. But Fernandez came onto the court with a little over 12 minutes left, and proceeded to score the next 14 points for JU. The junior from Wareham, Mass., gave the Dolphins a 27-26 lead on a deep three with 7:29 left in the period. The Dolphins led by as much as seven points in the half, but their offense stagnated over the final four minutes, and Lipscomb put together a 14-2 run to take a 44-39 lead into the half-time locker room.
Tip Ins
• Fernandez's 31 points are a JU record in Atlantic Sun tournament games, and J.C. Hampton's 35 are a Lipscomb record in Atlantic Sun tournament games.
• The Dolphins end the year 0-13 when trailing at the half.
• The Dolphins are 0-4 when allowing the opposing team to score at least 90 points.