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North Florida, Jacksonville go overtime to win crucial ASUN home games
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- North Florida, Jacksonville go overtime to win crucial ASUN home games
In overtime college basketball games on Jan. 24, it was Duval 2, Kentucky 0.
The University of North Florida and Jacksonville University both won what could prove to be pivotal ASUN games, holding on in thrillers that started and finished four hours apart in their respective campus gyms.
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UNF, which beat Eastern Kentucky on Jan. 22 on senior guard Kamrin Oriol 's 12-foot shot with 2.2 seconds left, lost a 14-point lead with less than four minutes remaining against Bellamine, but rallied in overtime to win 117-114 at UNF Arena, with Oriol scoring the Opreys' last 10 points of the game.
It was the most combined points (231) in a game in ASUN history. Oriol had career-highs of 33 points and 15 assists, with the latter the second-most in a game in school history. Ivan Gandia-Rosa had 18 vs. USC-Upstate on Feb. 15, 2018. He scored 32 against Eastern Kentucky.
JU, 77-70 losers on Jan. 22 to Bellarmine , won a gritty 81-76 game against Eastern Kentucky when senior forward Allen Udemadu hit two free throws, then scored after grabbing an offensive rebound to give the Dolphins the lead for good with 1:53 left. Sophomore guard Chris Lockett scored a career-high 25 points, 11 in the final 3:56 and the extra period.
Kamrin Oriol of the University of North Florida goes up for a shot on Jan. 22 at UNF Arena against Eastern Ketucky. The Ospreys won 87-85 on Oriol's shot with two seconds remaining.
Both coaches would obviously like to think that their teams' inconsistency in conference play to this point might turn around. UNF (5-16, 3-5) has won three of its last four games and won a conference game at UNF Arena for the first time this year. JU (8-13, 3-5) has won three of five since losing its first three ASUN games.
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"We talk about successful people being the ones who can handle adversity and keep going until they get results," said Ospreys coach Bobby Kennen , whose team weathered a 10-game losing streak. "The hardest thing to do with a team is learn how to win, and I think we're learning how to win."
"It's a long journey during the season ... kind of understanding that these guys are young, and they're still navigating their emotions," Dolphins coach Jordan Mincy said. "I've got to navigate mine as well, as a coach. Every game's a learning experience. There's just such parity in our conference, and you're trying to chase consistency as best you can."
Men: Opsreys ride Kamrin Oriol
Oriol took the Opsreys on his back in the two victories. He has taken over the ASUN scoring lead with 20.8 per game, and UNF trails only conference co-leader Queens in scoring with 81.8 points per game.
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UNF leads the ASUN in 3-pointers attempted (689), made (248), and free-throw percentage (78.3),. Sophomore guard Kent Jackson , an Episcopal graduate who scored 27 points against Bellarmine on nine of 15 from beyond the arc, leads the conference in 3-pointers per game with 3.4.
University of North Florida coach Bobby Kennen goes over the play for the final possession of the Ospreys' game against Eastern Kentucky on Jan. 22 at UNF Arena. North Florida won 87-85 and will play Bellarmine at home on Jan. 24 at 11 a.m. to allow its opponent to return home to Louisville, Ky., ahead of predicted winter weather.
Jackson hit the most 3-points shots in game for UNF since Jose Placer had 10 against Kennesaw on Jan. 5, 2023. It's tied for third-most in a game in team history, behind Placer and Parker Smith (11 vs. Mercer on Feb. 20, 2012)
The Ospreys couldn't hold onto a 98-82 lead with 3:59 left as the Knights closed with a 20-6 run, led by Sam Donald (22 points, nine in the final 2:37) and Kenyon Goodin (18 points, five during the closing run). Bellarmine tied the score with 1.5 seconds left when Brian Waddell (26 points) was left unblocked on the weak side after Tyler Doyle missed a layup, and the follow-up sent the game to overtime 102-102.
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Oriol's 3-pointer with 19 seconds left broke a 112-112 tie, and he made two free throws with three seconds remaining. Goodin missed a 3-point attempt at the buzzer.
Devin Hines added 16 points, and Dalton Gayman 12 off the bench. Jackson hit seven of 10 3-point attempts in the first half as UNF led 50-47.
The Ospreys lost a nine-point lead against EKU with 9:35 left when Montavious Myrick scored 10 of his 19 points. UNF led 85-81 on Oriol's three-point play with 1:21 left, but EKU's M.J. Williams scored twice on driving layups to tie the game.
A key moment came when a Williams free throw after his basket with 45 seconds left was disallowed because of a lane violation on teammate Jalen Cooper.
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Oriol took the inbounds pass on the final possession and dribbled around the right side of the lane, guarded by Williams. He then switched with Cooper and Oriol feinted a drive, stepped back and hit the jumper.
Kennen said the strategy on the final play wasn't complicated.
"Get the ball in the hands of your best player," he said.
In the two games last week, Oriol hit 22 of 34 shots (64.7 percent) overall, six of 13 from beyond the 3-point arc, with 65 points and 18 assists.
Dolphins battle in-game scoring drought
Jacksonville rallied from an early 15-5 deficit and trailed 37-33 at halftime to EKU. The lead changed hands eight times in the first 6:47 of the second half and the Colonels gave JU fits when they switched to a zone, denying JU forward Donovan Rivers (17 points) from the point-blank hooks and layups he was making.
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The Dolphins failed to score a basket for 4:53 and fell behind 63-57 with 3:52 left. But Lockett started finding seams in the zone on either side of the foul line and made three shots down the stretch, the last a 15-footer with 29.4 seconds left to finish a 9-2 run and tie the game 68-68. Williams missed a driving layup for the Colonels at the buzzer.
The key sequence in overtime came after EKU took a 73-72 lead. Udemadu hit both ends of a one-and-one with 2:49 remaining to give JU the lead for good, rebounded a missed shot at the other end, then grabbed an offensive rebound and put the ball back in with 1:34 left.
Jacksonville University junior guard Jaylen Jones drives against Eastern Kentucky's M.J. Williams during their game on Jan. 24 at Swisher Gym.
Lockett and Evan Sterck (16 points, five assists) combined to make five of six free throws in the final seconds to make it a two-possession game.
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But the finish wasn't without some final bits of tension: the Dolphins were whistled for a 10-second violation trying to get the ball upcourt against EKU's pressure after Turner Buttry missed two free throws and Jason Thirdkill Jr., rebounded the second miss with 1:34 left, and following a missed 3-point attempt by Juan Cranford, Jr. with 1:20 left, Udemedu lost the rebound out of bounds.
EKU helped by making only eight of 16 free throws in the final 6:21 and overtime.
Hayden Wood led JU with 21 points in a 77-70 loss to Bellarmine on Jan. 22, and Jason Thirdkill Jr., added 17 points and nine rebounds. Udemadu had 12 points off the bench.
Udemade, a 6-foot-10, 240-pound senior and a transfer from Missouri State, has played 49 minutes in his last three games, with 30 points and 14 rebounds, shooting 10 of 14 from the floor. He played only 12 minutes in two ASUN games before that, and never left the bench in three other conference games.
Jacksonville University senior forward Allen Udemadu has averaged 10 points and 4.6 rebounds during a three-game stretch since getting more playing time.
"It probably means I'm a coach who's still learning," Mincy said. "He's had so many DNPs [did not play] and the guy is a physical specimen. It's about trying to learn your team and you're talking about a guy who brings positive energy and is the model of consistency every day."
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Edward Waters (9-10, 7-8 SIAC):The Tigers bounced back from a 63-61 overtime loss to Benedict (S.C.) on Jan. 19 at the Adams-Jenkins Complex by cruising past Lane (Tenn.) 76-70 on Jan. 22 at home, a game in which they led 74-61 with 2:16 left. Sophomore guard Jalen Nelson had 18 points and five assists; senior forward Cyrus Nole-Huggard had 16 points, seven rebounds, three blocked shots, and three steals; and junior forward Keshawn Evans had 15 points and 10 rebounds.
The loss to Benedict was ugly for both teams in the last 12 minutes of the second half. After Evans hit a 3-point shot with 12:07 left to cut a Benedict lead to 47-43, neither team scored for 8:45 until senior guard Amayoa'ah Phillips hit a free throw with 3:22 left. There was only one more basket for the rest of regulation, a layup by Phillips off a feed from sophomore guard Gabe Guilford to tie the game 50-50 with five seconds left and send it to overtime.
A 3-pointer by Malachi Chavis with 1:50 left in overtime put Benedict ahead for good.
During the final 12:07 of regulation, the Tigers were 1 of 20 from the floor with five turnovers and Benedict was 0 for 12 from the floor with eight turnovers.
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Flagler (12-7, 6-5 Peach Belt):The Saints won back-to-back conference games for the first time this season, beating Clayton State 77-72 on Jan. 20 in Morrow, Ga., then returning home on Jan. 24 to topple Augusta 72-66 at Flagler Gym. Graduate guard Tariq Daughton led the Saints over Clayton with 19 points and six rebounds and graduate guard Rahdir Hicks added 18 points. Junior guard Mason Manning scored 15 points and Hicks 13 to pace Flagler against the Jaguars. The Saints outscored Augusta 26-3 in bench points.
Trinity College (8-6, 2-0 NCCAA Region II South):Sophomore guard Tayden Owens had 26 points, seven rebounds, four steals, and three assists as the Eagles routed Trinity University 116-66 on Jan. 19 in New Port Richey. Senior guard Diego Fernandez had 23 points, seven rebounds, and seven assists, and junior guard Maximus Fuentes added 14 points and seven rebounds.
This week's games
Jan. 26:LeMoyne-Owen (Tenn.) at Edward Waters, 7:30 p.m.
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Jan. 28:Southeastern Baptist (Miss.) at Trinity College, 4 p.m.; Flagler at Georgia Southwestern, 7:30 p.m.
Jan. 29:Stetson at North Florida, 7 p.m.; Lipscomb at Jacksonville, 7 p.m.; Bob Jones University (S.C.) at Trinity College, 7 p.m.; Edward Waters at Kentucky State, 7:30 p.m.
Jan. 31:Lipscomb at North Florida, 2 P.M.; Florida Gulf Coast at Jacksonville, 3 p.m.; Columbus State (Ga.) at Flagler, 3:30 p.m.; Edward Waters at Central State (Ohio), 4 p.m.
Women: Edward Waters stays on guard
The Edward Waters Tigers (14-4, 12-3 in the SIAC) continue to climb the national rankings in defense after two more victories last week in which they held opponents to less than 60 points, bringing that total this season to 13 games.
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The Tigers have a one-game lead over Clark Atlanta in the SIAC East.
EWU held Lane to 28.1 percent shooting overall and 12.5 percent from beyond the 3-point arc in a 69-46 victory at the Adams-Jenkins Complex on Nov. 22. Graduate guard Amelya Hatch led the Tigers with 15 points, six rebounds and eight assists, and junior guard Tan Brown and graduate forward Zahra Daniel had 11 points each.
Hatch hit two free throws with 21 seconds left to break a 52-52 tie and added two more with five seconds left to ensure a 56-55 victory over Benedict (S.C.) on Jan. 19 at home. Benedict's Aaliyah Lawrence made a 3-pointer at the buzzer for Benedict to close the final margin to a single point.
But it was more of the same for the EWU defense: Benedict shot 29.7 percent from the floor and 15.4 percent on 3-point attempts, and 10 of their 19 turnovers were steals by the Tigers.
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Senior forward Shrica Fowles led Edward Waters with 14 points and a season-high 19 rebounds. Fowles is first in the SIAC and 15th nationally among NCAA Division II players with 10.7 rebounds per game. Hatch added 12 points and Tan Brown 11.
The Tigers are now among the top 20 NCAA Division II teams in three defensive categories. They're 11th in scoring defense (52.9 points per game), 14th in field-goal percentage defense (34.6 percent), and 18th in 3-point percentage defense (25.1 percent). They lead the SIAC in scoring defense, field-goal percentage defense, and assist-to-turnover ratio (0.82) and are third behind Miles and Lane in 3-point percentage defense.
North Florida (7-11, 2-5 ASUN):The Ospreys finished the week strong with an 81-56 victory over host Bellarmine in Louisville, Ky., on Jan. 24. Eleven players scored, led by sophomore guards Jamisyn Stinson with 19 and Alexa Washington with 11. The Ospreys had 16 steals, with junior guard Alonya Waldon , junior guard Elle Blatchford and junior forward Georgi Buzetti grabbing three each. Stinson scored 17 points in an 88-54 loss at Eastern Kentucky on Jan. 22 in Richmond, Ky., and Waldon had 11.
In the two games combined, Stinson shot 16 of 30 from the floor, including 12 of 16 from inside the 3-point arc.
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Jacksonville (12-7, 4-4 ASUN):The Dolphins kept host Bellarmine winless in the ASUN with a 73-49 victory on Jan. 24 in Louisville, Ky. Freshman guards Tatum Brown and Aniah Smith had 15 points each, and sophomore forward Mariah Knight had 13 points and nine rebounds. Senior guard Priscilla Williams had a run of three double-doubles in her last four games broken with a season low of two points, but she contributed five rebounds, six assists and three steals. In an 82-63 loss on Jan. 22 at Eastern Kentucky, Williams had 14 points and 13 rebounds, Brown contributed 12 points, seven rebounds and four steals, and junior guard Bailey Burns had 12 points.
Jacksonville University sophomore guard Mychal White goes for a steal against Bellarmine on Jan. 24 in Louisville, Ky.
Flagler (8-10, 3-7 Peach Belt):The Saints dropped a pair of conference games, losing at Clayton State 57-49 on Jan. 20 in Morrow, Ga., and falling at home 68-52 to Augusta on Jan. 24. Senior forward Marley Smith and sophomore gaurd Emerson Kutz scored 10 points each against Clayton and senior guard Natalie Herrin had nine points and nine rebounds. Smith led the Saints with 14 points against Augusta and junior guard Aspen Weeks had 11.
Trinity (8-7, 2-0 NCCAA Region II South):Senior forward Caroline Smith had 20 points on nine of 11 shooting as the Eagles routed Beacon College (Leesburg) 81-51 on Jan. 24 at home. Senior guard Emma Parrish had 21 points and nine assists off the bench and sophomore forward Travesha Giddens had 10 points and seven rebounds off the bench. ... In a 70-62 loss at Trinity University (Fla.) on Jan. 19 on the road, sophomore guard M'lani Vitela had 21 points, five steals and four assists, and Smith added 12 points, seven rebounds and three steals.
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This week's games
Jan. 26:LeMoyne-Owen (Tenn.) at Edward Waters, 5:30 p.m.; Paine College (Ga.) at Trinity College, 7 p.m.
Jan. 28:Southeastern Baptist (Miss.) at Trinity College, 4 p.m.; Flagler at Georgia Southwestern, 7:30 p.m.
Jan. 29:Edward Waters at Kentucky State, 5:30 p.m.; Jacksonville at Lipscomb, 7 p.m.; North Florida at Austin Peay, 8 p.m.
Jan. 31:Columbus State (Ga.) at Flagler, 1:30 p.m.; North Florida at Lipscomb, 2 p.m.; Edward Waters at Central State, 2 p.m.; Southeastern Baptist (Miss.) at Trinity College, 2 p.m.; Jacksonville at Austin Peay, 7 p.m.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: UNF Ospreys, JU Dolphins win overtime thrillers in ASUN action
