The week ahead in First Coast college basketball
Men
Records: Flagler 12-3 (5-1, Peach Belt); Jacksonville 11-4 (3-0, ASUN); Edward Waters 6-11; North Florida 4-13 (0-4, ASUN).
Player of the week: JU junior forward Osayi Osifo had two dominant performances inside for the Dolphins in victories over Stetson and UNF. Osifo scored 23 points on 9 of 13 from the floor, and pulled down 21 rebounds and had two blocked shots. He had his first double-double of the season with 13 points and 13 rebounds against UNF.
Game of the week: Close games have become the norm in the River City Rumble and on Saturday, JU outlasted UNF 54-51 at UNF Arena for the 11th game in the last 12 meetings that was decided by a single-digit margin. There were 10 ties and JU took over the national lead in scoring defense at 54.6 points allowed per game.
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Stat line of the week: Flagler senior guard Jaizec Lottie made only 2 of 12 shots from the floor, but he made 10 of 13 free throws and had 14 points, six rebounds and four assists in the Saints 88-78 victory over Young Harris.
Schedule
Monday
Coastal Georgia at Edward Waters, 2 p.m.
Flagler at North Georgia, 5:30 p.m.
Kennesaw at North Florida, 7 p.m.
Tuesday
Jacksonville at Liberty, 7 p.m.
Thursday
North Florida at Florida State, 12 p.m.
Saturday
Augusta University at Flagler, 3:30 p.m.
North Florida at Eastern Kentucky, 7 p.m.
Jacksonville at Bellarmine, 7 p.m.
Oakwood University (Ala.) at Edward Waters, 8 p.m.
Noting the Tigers: EWU’s game against Clark Atlanta scheduled for Jan. 15 at home was postponed. It was to have been the Tigers’ first home game since Dec. 18 and would have kicked off a three-game homestand. Monday’s game against Coastal Georgia will be the first at the Adams-Jenkins Complex in 30 days. … EWU had 30 turnovers in its 74-67 loss at Tuskegee last week, with four players committing five or more.
Noting the Saints: Senior guard Jaizec Lottie, Flagler’s leading scorer the last two seasons, has been held to single-digit points only twice, both coming this season. However, the Saints have won both, including last Wednesday’s 65-62 victory over Georgia Southwestern in which he had a career-low eight points. … Flagler goes for its third victory in a row over Augusta on Saturday. Prior to sweeping the season series last year, the Saints were 3-19 against Augusta. … Before that, Flagler will try to avenge its only Peach Belt loss of last season, a 66-63 defeat at North Georgia. That snapped a four-game winning streak against the Nighthawks.
Noting the Dolphins: JU is a combined 0-9 against the upcoming opponents, 0-7 vs. Liberty and 0-2 vs. Bellarmine. … The Dolphins took over the national lead in scoring defense with their 54-51 victory over North Florida by percentage points over Texas. JU is giving up 54.46 points per game and has limited 11 of its 15 opponents to less than 60 points. ... JU has already matched its 11 victories of last season and is two victories away from matching the number of ASUN victories in 2020-21.
Noting the Ospreys: UNF has a busy week with three games, thanks to rescheduling its game at Florida State. The Ospreys are 0-6 against the Seminoles and last played on Dec. 3, 2020, an 86-58 loss. … UNF has won its last five games against Kennesaw and holds a 28-20 lead in the rivalry, and is playing Eastern Kentucky for only the second time. EKU beat UNF 80-67 last season.
Women
Records: Jacksonville 9-5 (2-1, ASUN); Edward Waters 11-7; Flagler 9-7 (3-3, Peach Belt); North Florida 7-9 (0-4, ASUN).
Player of the week: Jacksonville University senior point guard Taylor Hawks played 74 out of a possible 80 minutes last week in leading the Dolphins to victories over Stetson and UNF. Hawks scored 24 points and made 12 of 14 free throws, with four assists and two steals.
Game of the week: Hawks hit two free throws with 10.7 seconds left to give Jacksonville a 52-50 victory over North Florida in the first River City Rumble women’s basketball game of the season.
Stat line of the week: Edward Waters senior guard La’Quanza Glover had 28 points, 11 rebounds, seven assists, two steals and made 10 of 13 free throws in the Tigers’ 87-79 loss to Savannah State.
Schedule
Monday
Coastal Georgia at Edward Waters, 2 p.m.
Flagler at North Georgia, 5:30 p.m.
Wednesday
Kennesaw at North Florida, 7 p.m.
Jacksonville at Liberty, 7 p.m.
Saturday
Augusta University at Flagler, 1:30 p.m.
Carver College (Ga.) at Edward Waters, 2 p.m.
Jacksonville at Bellarmine, 2 p.m.
North Florida at Eastern Kentucky, 4 p.m.
Noting the Tigers: Glover, a Ribault graduate, notched her 11th double-double of the season in EWU’s loss to Savannah State. … Along with the men, the Tigers’ game last Saturday against Clark Atlanta was postponed. … The Tigers’ games this week against Coastal Georgia and Carver will give them seven this season against institutions from Georgia. EWU is 3-2 in those games so far.
Noting the Saints: Senior guard Tori Pearce had her fifth 20-point game in a 73-63 loss to Georgia Southwestern last week. He has failed to score in double figures in only one game this season, and has three double-figure games in rebounds and three in assists. … Her 13-point, 13-rebound performance in a 53-41 loss to Young Harris gave her six double-doubles on the season, with two of them involving points and assists. ... The Saints have lost four of their last five games to Monday’s opponent, North Georgia, but have won five of their last seven meetings against Augusta, who they face at home on Saturday.
Noting the Dolphins: JU has lost six in a row against Liberty since winning the first game of the series on Jan. 12, 2019. … The Dolphins’ only ASUN victory last season came against Bellarmine, 71-65, earning a split of the season series. … JU’s 52-50 victory over UNF was the sixth time it has held an opponent under 60 points this season. … The Dolphins snapped a four-game losing streak against UNF.
Noting the Ospreys: When UNF lost to Kennesaw 81-73 last season, it broke a seven-game winning streak against the Owls. KSU still holds a 27-23 edge over UNF. … The Ospreys have played Eastern Kentucky only once, losing 62-45 on Nov. 29, 2014. … UNF’s 0-4 start in the ASUN is the worst since losing the first four conference games in 2014. … Jazz Bond’s four blocked shots against JU gives her 39 for the season and gave her nine games with multiple blocked shots. She adds to her program record with each one and now has 242.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: The week ahead in First Coast college basketball
