The week in First Coast college basketball: JU on four-game win streak, UNF plays Iowa tough

This coming week in First Coast college basketball emphasizes the student part of the equation in the phrase “student-athlete.”

That's because it's a light schedule, with midterm exams filling the players' time more than hoops.

There are only four men’s games but one matches two First Coast teams: Edward Waters will play the North Florida Ospreys at UNF Arena on Tuesday at 7 p.m.

Jacksonville University, fresh off two victories over fellow mid-major teams Campbell (62-48) and Georgia Southern (81-79), has one game this week at UCF on Wednesday. The Georgia Southern team that the Dolphins swept in two games will play at UNF on Saturday at 5 p.m.

There are also only four women’s games. One matches First Coast teams, Edward Waters and Jacksonville on Monday at 6:30 p.m., at Swisher Gym.

The top game last week was JU's 81-79 victory at Georgia Southern on Saturday with sophomore guard Robert McCray scoring JU's last 10 points, all with less than two minutes left in the game.

McCray, a transfer from Wake Forest, hit a 3-point shot with 53 seconds left to break a 76-76 tie, knocked down another from beyond the arc with 26 seconds left to snap a 79-79 tie and then scored the game-winning basket on a transition dunk with eight seconds left that started with a steal by Marcus Niblack, with Niblack feeding McCray for the basket.

Eugene Brown III of GSU missed a 3-point attempt with two seconds left and McCray rebounded the ball.

Men: McCray leads Dolphins to two victories

Player of the week: For the second week in a row, it’s McCray. He scored 45 points and shot 15 of 23 from the floor in the Dolphins’ victories over Campbell and Georgia Southern. In the latter game, he had 32 points, six rebounds, shot 11 of 15 from the floor and made 4 of 5 3-points attempts.

Stat line of the week: Flagler junior guard Destin Clark had 23 points, 18 rebounds, three assists and shot 10 of 16 from the floor in the Saints’ 96-58 victory over visiting New College.

This week’s games

Tuesday

Edward Waters at North Florida, 7 p.m.

Wednesday

Jacksonville at UCF, 7 p.m.

Saturday

Georgia Southern at North Florida, 2 p.m.

Trinity Baptist at Coastal Georgia, 3 p.m.

Noting UNF (4-5): The Ospreys led Iowa at Carver-Hawkeye Arena 52-51 on Dorian James’ short jumper with 16:50 left. The upset hopes soon got buried as Iowa flexed its Big Ten muscles, went on an 11-2 run and eventually won 103-78. The last time UNF got Iowa’s lead under double-digits was with 10:39 left on Chaz Lanier’s basket but the Hawkeyes outscored the Ospreys 32-17 for the rest of the game. Lanier led UNF with 16 points and Jaylen Smith added 15. … The Ospreys returned home on Saturday and lost to High Point 86-79. Junior guard Ametri Moss had a career-high 19 points and made four 3-pointers in a row early in the second half to give UNF a seven-point lead but High Point’s Duke Miles (21 points) and Kezza Giffa (14 points) combined to score 20 points in the last 10 minutes.

Noting JU (6-2): Senior forward Bryce Workman had a double-double against Campbell with 18 points and 11 rebounds. He has played 30 or more minutes in his last four games. … JU is 11-13 overall against UCF and last won 61-51 in 2009 in Orlando.

Noting Edward Waters (2-6, 1-1 in SIAC): Goliath Mitchell paced the Tigers in two losses last week. He had 21 points and seven rebounds in a 99-78 home loss to USC-Beaufort and had 19 points and six rebounds in a 76-69 loss at Miles College (Ala.)

Noting Trinity Baptist (3-2): The Eagles split two road games last week, losing 85-74 to Southeastern (Miss.) and beating Pensacola Christian 76-73. Sophomore guard Diego Fernandez scored 15 points in each game and junior guard Xavier Rose had 15 points, five assists and two steals in beating Pensacola. The Eagles almost blew a 15-point halftime lead in Pensacola but pulled away by making 5 of 6 free throws in the final 39 seconds.

Noting Flagler (4-3): Clark had two double-doubles last week, adding 24 points and 12 rebounds in the Saints’ 90-78 victory over Paine College. … The Saints attacked the rim in both games, scoring 50 points in the paint against Paine and 62 against New College, more than 60 percent of their total points. Flagler shot 54 percent in the two games combined.

Women: Battling hard for the Dolphins

Player of the week: Jacksonville guard Edyn Battle scored 50 points and added 12 rebounds and seven assists in two road games. In a 68-63 loss at Bethune-Cookman, Battle had 29 points and seven rebounds and in an 88-81 loss to FIU she had 21 points, five rebounds and four assists.

Stat line of the week: North Florida junior guard Kalia Rougier had 16 points, 14 rebounds and three assists in the Ospreys’ 68-51 victory over Warner. She also made 4 of 5 from beyond the 3-point arc.

This week’s games

Monday

North Florida at Coppin State (Md.), 11 a.m.

Edward Waters at Jacksonville, 6:30 p.m.

Thursday

Jacksonville at Florida State, 6 p.m.

Florida National at Trinity Baptist, 6 p.m.

Noting UNF (2-7): The Ospreys journeyed to Philadelphia to take on St. Joseph’s on Saturday and fell 84-65. However, UNF had three players in double figures, led by senior guard Lyric Swann with 16 points, Rougier with 15 and senior forward Emma Broermann with 14. … The Ospreys stayed in the Middle Atlantic for their next game, and it’s an early wakeup call: 11 a.m. on Monday at Coppin State in Baltimore.

Noting JU (2-4): Home might have never looked better to the Dolphins after three tough road losses, all by seven points or less. And after playing host to Edward Waters on Monday, JU goes back on the road to face the Seminoles. … Freshman forward Saniyah Craig had two double-double games last week, with 14 points and 11 rebounds in the loss to Bethune-Cookman and 14 points and 12 rebounds against FIU.

Noting Edward Waters (3-3, 1-2 in SIAAC): The Tigers lost their second overtime game in a row, 79-70 to Kentucky State, getting outscored 12-3 in overtime and 38-19 in the fourth quarter and extra period combined. Senior forward Khadija Smith led EWC with 19 points and junior guard Kayla Horton had 17. ... The Tigers rebounded with a 66-56 victory over USC-Beaufort. Horton had 16 points, senior guard Sha'Kawanza Brown 15 and senior center Kyana Johnson added 11 points and 15 rebounds.

Noting Trinity Baptist (3-4): The Eagles lost their only game of the week, 97-45 to Pensacola Christian. Freshman guard Laila Harvey led TBC with 13 points and freshman forward Madlyn Touze had seven points and 12 rebounds.

Noting Flagler (3-3): The Saints did not play last week. Their home game against Southern Wesleyan on Dec. 12 will mark the end of an 18-day break between games.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: The week in First Coast college hoops: JU wins two, UNF hangs with Iowa