JU captures 'Rumble' point at UNF

Thursday, January 15

UNF Arena

7:45 p.m.

University of North Florida

-314, 16 ASun

Jacksonville

-78, 61 ASun

Jacksonville

North Florida

Eni Cuka scored 14 points for the Ospreys Thursday.

1/15/2009 10:50:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

Dolphins prevail in SunTrust River City Rumble matchup

By: Shawn LaFata

Box Score

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – University of North Florida junior Eni Cuka scored 14 points, hitting 5-of-12 shots from the field and 2-of-5 3-point attempts in a 78-38 loss to cross-town rival Jacksonville University in front of 2,830 fans at UNF Arena.

In the latest installment of the SunTrust River City Rumble, Jacksonville (7-8, 6-1 A-Sun) claimed an early 9-2 lead before opening up a 21-point advantage at the half and holding the Ospreys (3-14, 1-6 A-Sun) to only 15 points in the second half.

"Give JU credit, they won every facet of the game tonight," UNF head coach Matt Kilcullen said. "They played as well as I have seen them play."

Four Dolphins finished the game in double-digit point totals, led by Marcus Allen who scored a game-high 17 points. Ayron Hardy followed him with 12 while Lehmon Colbert had 11 and Travis Cohn had 10.

JU shot 44.8 percent from the field for the game, compared to the Ospreys, which shot 29.8 percent.

Jacksonville was also able to cash in off UNF mistakes, forcing the Ospreys into 17 turnovers and scoring 22 points off of those turnovers.

The Dolphins came out of the gates quickly grabbing a nine-point lead thanks to six early points from Allen. Cuka was able to get UNF back in the game with a 3-pointer, while Stan Januska also sunk an early 3-pointer for the Ospreys. A Cuka jumper at the 11:33 mark of the first half pulled the Ospreys within four at 14-10, but JU was able to push the advantage to 13 thanks to a 9-2 run.

JU led by as many as 24 in the opening half before a Cuka 3-pointer cut the Dolphin advantage to 21 points at the break.

Cuka scored eight of his 14 points in the opening half, while Allen had 12 to lead the Dolphins.

JU continued to control the paint in the second half, and extended its lead in the process thanks to 22 second-chance points and 18 offensive rebounds. JU won the rebounding battle 45-28 with Colbert pulling down a game-high seven boards. Januska led the Ospreys with six rebounds to go along with his seven points.

The Ospreys will hit the road for a game on Monday when they square off with Campbell at 8 p.m. in Buies Creek, N.C.