Jacksonville victory over North Florida marred by late fight

University of North Florida coach Erika Lambert said she had an unsettling feeling about her team’s game at Jacksonville University’s Swisher Gym on Feb. 27.

“It was coming ... it was bubbling,” she said.

It was a River City Rumble in the worst sense.

A physical game with 48 personal fouls between the two teams deteriorated after a brief scuffle for a loose ball between JU’s Aniah Smith and UNF’s Jamisyn Stinson with 1:16 left, and erupted into a melee in the middle of the court.

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Jacksonville University guard Tatum Brown (2) exchanges words with University of North Florida forward Dezuray McGill (30) during a scuffle in the fourth period. [Doug Engle/Florida Times-Union]

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It was over in seconds, but had major ramifications for the ASUN Tournament next week in Jacksonville ― especially for the Dolphins.

On paper, JU won 79-71 to clinch the second seed in the tournament and earn a quarterfinal game on March 5 at 5 p.m. at the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena. The Dolphins are scheduled to face the winner of the game between seventh-seeded West Georgia and 10 ^th -seeded UNF (9-20, 4-14), who play an opening-round game on March 3 at 5 p.m. at Swisher Gym.

However, they will be without senior Priscilla Williams , sophomore Comari Mitchell and freshman Aniah Smith for the first tournament game for their part in the brawl. UNF's Dezuray McGill is suspended for the Ospreys' game against West Georgia.

JU had to finish with four players

Smith, who took a swing at a UNF player during the initial scuffle, was ejected with a Flagrant 2 foul, as were Williams and Comari Mitchell, who were among the players to leave the bench. McGill was invovled with the initial scramble for the loose ball.

The rest of the JU bench players were ejected for coming onto the floor, prohibited by NCAA rules.  Coach Special Jennings was also ejected under a rule that applies to a coach whose team has three or more Flagrant 2 fouls.

Jennings declined to comment after that game and would not make any of her players available.

The Dolphins had to finish the final 76 seconds with four players, Tatum Brown, Carmaya Bowman, Bailey Burns and Makiya Miller, and assistant coach Shenneika Smith running the team.

JU had a 73-64 lead at the time, a margin that shrank to 73-67 when Stinson made 3 of 4 technical foul shots.

But Miller scored six of her game-high 22 points in the final minute as the Dolphins were able to break UNF’s press. JU was only outscored 7-6 by UNF playing with four.

How did the incident begin?

The play that led to the melee came when UNF’s Alexa Washington missed a layup, then battled Smith for the rebound. The ball popped loose and Smith dove on it.

Stinson and McGill came over to try and wrest the ball away and Smith lashed out. Words and shoves were exchanged between Smith, McGill and Bowman, but Washington and teammate Karyzma Pierre played peacemakers, pulling McGill away.

By that point, the JU bench had rushed onto the floor, despite the attempts of assistant coaches to pull them away.

Officials stopped the game to review the play, with about 20 minutes passing before their final ruling.

UNF had a third-quarter lead

The Ospreys led 41-37 with 4:30 left in the third period on Stinson’s second 3-pointer of the period. But the Dolphins went on a 16-5 run, capped by 3-pointers by Miller and Smith, to go back in front 53-49. Stinson (20 points, seven rebounds, three steals) made it a four-point deficit when she made a desperation heave from just inside midcourt for a 3-pointer at the buzzer.

The Dolphins outscored the Ospreys 11-2 over the first part of the fourth quarter to take control of the game. But it was still contentious, with players going to the floor frequently for loose balls and rebounds.

The two teams also combined for 43 turnovers.

“We were trying to communicate with the officials to make sure that we could keep [emotions] in check,” Lambert said. “Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case.”

JU swept the season series with UNF and leads 30-14. The Dolphins have won the last four games against UNF at Swisher Gym.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: JU-UNF basketball fight leads to ejections, suspensions for first ASUN game