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ASUN basketball: Jacksonville University rallies behind guard Robert McCray V to beat EKU
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- ASUN basketball: Jacksonville University rallies behind guard Robert McCray V to beat EKU
For the third time this season and the fourth meeting in a row, Jacksonville University proved to be green Kryptonite for the Eastern Kentucky Colonels .
Junior guard Robert McCray V scored 16 of his team-high 26 points in the second half, junior center Stephon Payne III returned from an ankle injury to provide an emotional lift off the bench with 10 points and the Dolphins rallied from an 11-point halftime deficit to beat EKU 78-67 on Monday at Swisher Gym to advance to the ASUN men's basketball semifinals .
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JU swept Eastern Kentucky (18-14) during the regular season and ousted the top-seeded Colonels from the ASUN Tournament last year as the 10th seed. The first three victories for the Dolphins over EKU over that span were by an average of 4.3 points and it was another gut-wrenching game with the Dolphins clinging to a three-point lead, 64-61, with 4:28 left before JU ended the game on a 14-6 run.
The rivalry has been a pitched battle, with every shot, rebound and loose ball contested, and both teams playing to the brink of exhaustion.
"[JU coach] Jordan Mincy does a great job getting his kids to play incredibly hard," said EKU coach A.W. Hamilton, who has had to weather the loss of his leading scorer and point guard George Kimble III (18.0 points per game) for the last seven games of the season with an injury. "We have a lot of respect for Jacksonville and it'll be like this next year."
Mincy returned the compliments.
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"A.W. is an unbelievable coach, does a great job of recruiting and a great job of developing," he said. "When you look at our styles of play, we're very similar. We came out on the winning side but they deserved to win as well. They put the same amount of effort in. Those kids and that staff work extremely hard."
Jacksonville Dolphins guard Robert McCray V (13) shoots the ball against Eastern Kentucky Colonels forward Devontae Blanton (10) during the second half of the quarterfinal round of the ASUN men’s basketball tournament at Swisher Gymnasium Monday, March 2, 2025 in Jacksonville, Fla. JU rallied to defeat EKU 78-67. [Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union]
Dolphins will play at North Alabama
But it was the fourth-seeded Dolphins (19-12) celebrating at the end They will play No. 2 North Alabama (23-9) in a semifinal game on Thursday at 7 p.m. at CB&S Bank Arena in Florence, Ala. North Alabama advanced by beating No. 7 Austin Peay 90-69.
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The other semifinal on Thursday will be No. 1 Lipscomb (23-9) vs. No. 6 Queens (19-13) at Allen Arena in Nashville, at 8 p.m. Lipscomb beat No. 10 Central Arkansas 84-66 and Queens upset No. 3 Florida Gulf Coast 71-65.
The semifinal winners will play at the site of the higher-seeded team on Sunday at 2 p.m. for the ASUN Tournament title and the conference's NCAA berth. If JU and Queens win, the Dolphins will play the championship game at home.
JU split with North Alabama during the regular season, winning 64-60 at home on Jan. 16 and losing 92-79 on the road on Feb. 15.
JU had no early answer for Devontae Blanton
Eastern Kentucky jumped out to leads of 11-4, 21-12 and 41-28 with 26 seconds left in the half, mostly because the Dolphins were burned time and again by senior wing Devontae Blanton. He scored 11 points and had four assists in the first half as JU tried several defenders on him, all unable to stop his step-back jumper.
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At the other end, JU found it hard to make anything. They missed five consecutive shots at one point, missed seven of their first nine free throws and McCray was held to three points in the first 15 minutes.
However, the Dolphins kept the margin manageable when McCray made 4 of 4 free throws and a 3-point shot in the final 3:29 to cut the lead to 41-30.
Stephon Payne gives Dolphins a lift
JU also got an emotional boost when Payne, a Jackson High graduate who had missed the previous five games, came in with 12:30 left in the half. Payne immediately hit a 5-foot shot and a layup during a three-minute period.
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Mincy said the message was sent: Their big man was back and he said it's been a chore trying to get Payne to listen to doctors and trainers who said his ankle wasn't quite ready.
Jacksonville Dolphins forward Zimi Nwokeji (16) dunks on Eastern Kentucky Colonels forward Montavious Myrick (13) during the second half of the quarterfinal round of the ASUN men’s basketball tournament at Swisher Gymnasium Monday, March 2, 2025 in Jacksonville, Fla. JU rallied to defeat EKU 78-67. [Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union]
"If it was up to him, he would have been playing," Mincy said. "He was shooting free throws by himself [earlier Monday afternoon] and I walk up to him and say, 'big fella ... how you doing?' He goes, 'I'm fine ... obviously you guys aren't listening to me.'"
They finally did and Payne got clearance, playing 14 minutes. He hit 4 of 6 shots from the floor and had three rebounds and a steal. Forward Zimi Nwokeji also came off the bench for nine points on 4 of 6 shots as JU's bench outscored the Colonels 21-5.
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Robert McCray slowly took over
JU started forcing Blanton to work harder in the second half, mostly with forward Kendall Munson guarding him (Blanton scored 27 points but shot 6 of 14 in the second half and 11 of 27 for the game). The Dolphins also guarded the perimeter better, forcing the Colonels to miss all six 3-point attempts in the second half after they had made 6 of 10 in the first half.
And McCray started going to work. He scored seven points and had two assists during a 15-4 run and gave JU its first lead since the opening minute at 48-47 on a running 8-footer.
The lead changed hands five times until Payne slammed home a dunk off a feed from Jakari Spence (eight points, five assists) and Spence and McCray fed Munson twice for baskets to put the Dolphins ahead for good.
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The key sequence came after Blanton made two free throws with 4:28 left to cut Jacksonville's lead to three points. McCray then threw a long alley-oop pass to guard Zach Bell , who launched his 6-foot-2 frame high to slam the ball home, bringing the JU crowd to its feet.
Blanton missed on the next trip (he didn't score over the final four minutes), Munson rebounded and got the ball out to McCray for a basket in transition. McCray and Spence then combined to make eight of 10 free throws down the stretch.
McCray snaps out of slump
McCray hit 7 of 13 shots, breaking a shooting slump in which he had connected on 39.5 percent over his previous nine games.
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"We started out slow and had to pick up," said McCray. "We had to pick it up in the second half."
Mincy took part of the blame for McCray struggling on offense in recent weeks and said he had to find ways to let him get in the open court and create.
"He loves those group of guys that he suits up with every game," Mincy said. "He just plays his heart out. I had to make sure and put him in position where he can play free and not feel so much pressure."
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: ASUN basketball: Robert McCray V leads Jacksonville rally over EKU
