Wednesday, March 03, 2010

MACON, Ga. - Ben Smith and Lehmon Colbert combined for 48 points for Jacksonville as the Dolphins held off a late charge from UNF to earn a first round victory in the 2010 General Shale Brick Atlantic Sun Men’s Basketball Championship, 76-69.

Read the Atlantic Sun Insider Column associated with this game here.

Colbert controlled the paint and shot 9-of-16, scoring 24 points and pulling down nine rebounds. Smith shot only 4-of-12 from the field but did his damage at the free throw stripe, going 14-18 from the charity line. Jacksonville built a 34-28 lead at halftime, thanks to 42-percent shooting and going 5-of-10 from behind the three point arc. UNF refused to go away in the second half, scoring 41 in the second frame.

Eni Cuka led the way for UNF, scoring 24 while going 5-of-11 from behind the 3-point arc. Unfortunately he rated as the only Osprey starter in double figures. For the game, UNF rained down 12 3-point buckets but it was not enough to knock off its River City rival.

Jacksonville advances to the semifinals to take on the winner of No. 3 Belmont/No. 6 Mercer Friday at 9:00 p.m. live on CSS and A-Sun.TV. 

Game Notes: No. 2 Jacksonville 76, No. 7 UNF 69

JACKSONVILLE
* Lehmon Colbert led the way for the Dolphins, scoring 24 points on 9-16 shooting. In three games against UNF, the Second-Team All-Atlantic Sun performer averaged 20.0 ppg, 10.3 rpg on 19-for-36 shooting.

* Jacksonville continued its dominance with its River City rival. The Dolphins own a 10-1 record, and have won nine straight, against the Ospreys since UNF joined the A-Sun in 2005

* With 24 points, Ben Smith crossed the 1,900-point plateau (1,885+). He becomes the 3rd player in JU history to reach that mark (Ralph Tiner, 2,184 pts; Ronnie Murphy, 1,937 pts). He also passed Samford’s Steve Barker (1,902 pts) for 7th on the A-Sun list.

* The A-Sun now boasts 3 1,900 point scorers (Mercer’s Florence, Campbell’s Rodriguez)…only other conference Big East (Notre Dame’s Luke Harangody, Villanova’s Scottie Reynolds and West Virginia’s DeSean Butler)

UNF
* After cutting the margin to 2 at 30-28, the Ospreys missed 12 of their next 13 shots spanning 11:08. They were outscored 19-8 during that span.

* Eni Cuka paced the Ospreys with 24 points. In his final nine games of the year, he averaged 14.4 ppg after averaging only 6.1 ppg in his first 22 games.

A-SUN CHAMPIONSHIP NOTES
* Jacksonville advances to its third straight semifinal appearance. The Dolphins will take on the winner of Belmont/Mercer on Friday at 9:00 p.m. on CSS. The Dolphins split with both the Bruins and Bisons.

* No. 2 seeds improve to 22-4 all-time against the No. 7 seeds. Second seeds have emerged victorious in each of the last seven meetings. The last No. 7 to topple a No. 2 occurred in 2003 when Georgia State beat Belmont.

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The Atlantic Sun Conference is an 11-member league committed to Building Winners for Life. The A-Sun stands for achievement with integrity in both the academic and athletic arenas, with a focus on the balance between the two for our student-athletes. Headquartered in Macon, Ga., the A-Sun boasts six of the top eight media markets in the Southeast. The A-Sun includes a blend of the most prestigious and dynamic private and public institutions in the region: Belmont University, Campbell University, East Tennessee State University, Florida Gulf Coast University, Jacksonville University, Kennesaw State University, Lipscomb University, Mercer University, University of North Florida, University of South Carolina Upstate and Stetson University.