JACKSONVILLE, Fla. --- Jacksonville University outscored Gardner-Webb by a 36-22 margin in the second half, while knocking down 12-of-21 from the floor to rally for a 68-65 win in non-conference play on Wednesday evening in Veterans Memorial Arena.
Jacksonville (3-9) shot an even 50 percent for the game, including a 57.1 percent clip in the second half, while holding Gardner-Webb (6-5) to a mark of 35.3 percent in the final 20 minutes. The Runnin' Bulldogs knocked down 66.7 percent of their attempts from the field in the first half as Jacksonville won the battle on the glass by a 26-24 margin, including a 5-1 advantage on the offensive boards.
Jerome Hill (Adel, Ga.) led the way for Gardner-Webb with 14 points on 5-of-11 shooting while adding seven rebounds. Dylan Poston (Myrtle Beach, S.C.) chipped in 12 points with a 4-for-5 night from downtown as Jarvis Davis (Columbia, S.C.) tallied eight points.
Tyrell Nelson (Charlotte, N.C.), Tyler Strange (Leominster, Mass.) and Adonis Burbage (Orlando, Fla.) each scored seven points. Strange dished out five assists as Davis and Harold McBride (Bronx, N.Y.) both added four.
J.R. Holder paced the Dolphins with 16 points off the bench, knocking down 6-of-9 from the floor, as Andris Misters and Kori Babineaux added 14 and 13 points, respectively. Josh Adeyeye chipped in 10 points as Babineaux dished out a game-high eight assists.
Gardner-Webb came out firing in the first half, knocking down 10 of its first 12 shots from the floor to take a 27-15 lead on a baseline floater by Burbage with 10:27 to go in the period. Jacksonville fought back over the next three minutes, closing the gap to 29-24 with a 9-2 run that was capped by an Adeyeye three at the 7:04 mark.
The Runnin' Bulldogs would respond with six of the next eight points, stretching the advantage to nine at 35-26 following a pair of Davis freebies with 5:36 left on the clock. A Corey Hensley (Candler, N.C.) layup and back-to-back threes by Poston pushed the margin to 43-29, before a late bucket from Holder cut the lead to 42-32 heading into the intermission.
Jacksonville kept the run going into the early moments of the second half, closing the gap to 47-42 with a 13-4 stretch that was capped by a Babineaux lay-in at the 13:43 mark. The Dolphins would even the score at 50-50 moments later, cutting it to two on a Babineaux bucket before a pair of White freebies brought the teams even with 11:01 to play.
The teams traded baskets over much of the next eight minutes, with Jacksonville breaking a 59-59 tie to take a 62-59 lead following a Holder trey with 3:23 to go. The Runnin' Bulldogs would answer moments later, cutting the margin to one on a Strange three before taking a narrow 65-64 advantage with a pair of Nelson freebies at the 1:31 mark.
Jacksonville quickly countered, scoring the game's final four points to complete the comeback and edge the Runnin' Bulldogs, 68-65 after Strange's last-gasp trey hit back iron.
Gardner-Webb returns to the court on Friday evening when the Runnin' Bulldogs host Hiwassee College at 7:00 pm in Paul Porter Arena.
