JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (Interstat) — A frigid shooting performance from beyond the arc doomed the Jacksonville Dolphins as the Florida Gulf Coast Eagles pulled away in the second half for a 68-49 victory in ASUN Conference men’s basketball on Saturday afternoon at Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena.

The Dolphins managed just one made three-pointer in 17 attempts, a catastrophic 5.9 percent clip that stifled any offensive momentum. That single make, by Jaylen Jones in the first half, stood in stark contrast to Florida Gulf Coast’s 7-for-15 performance from deep. The Eagles leveraged that disparity into a decisive 43-point second half, turning a narrow 25-24 halftime lead into a lopsided affair witnessed by 612 fans.

The game’s pivotal sequence arrived early in the second half, extinguishing a Jacksonville rally. After the Dolphins’ Jason Thirdkill opened the half with a putback to tie the game at 26, the Eagles’ defense catalyzed a game-breaking run. Jordan Ellerbee stripped Jacksonville’s Donovan Rivers and, though the ensuing transition opportunity was initially blocked, the Eagles maintained pressure. Moments later, a steal by Ellerbee led to a J.R. Konieczny layup. On the next possession, Isaiah Malone blocked a shot, gathered the rebound, and was fouled on a made layup, completing a three-point play. In a span of just over two minutes, a tied game became a 31-26 FGCU lead, and the Dolphins never recovered.

Ellerbee, a 6-foot-4 guard from Philadelphia, led all scorers with 15 points, adding five rebounds and two steals. His back-to-back three-pointers midway through the second half, part of a larger 14-4 Eagles run, stretched the lead to 47-34 and effectively sealed the outcome. Tristen Guillouette, a 6-foot-10 forward from Willingboro, New Jersey, provided a crucial interior presence off the bench with 11 points and six rebounds in just 15 minutes.

Jacksonville, which committed 16 turnovers leading to 15 FGCU points, was led by Hayden Wood’s 11 points, six rebounds and two blocks. Evan Sterck added eight points and four rebounds. The Dolphins’ offensive struggles were encapsulated by an offensive rating of 70.9 points per 100 possessions, a stark inefficiency next to FGCU’s 101.7.

The Eagles dominated despite being outscored 28-26 in the paint and outrebounded on the offensive glass. Their defensive activity, generating nine steals and forcing those 16 turnovers, combined with their stark three-point advantage, proved the decisive formula. Darren Williams provided a spark for FGCU with nine points, all from beyond the arc, in 12 minutes.

With the win, Florida Gulf Coast evened its conference record and improved to 10-13 overall. Jacksonville fell to 9-14. The victory snapped a two-game road losing streak for the Eagles, who will look to build momentum when they travel to face Eastern Kentucky on Thursday. The Dolphins, who had won two of their last three, will try to regroup on the road at Queens University of Charlotte on the same night.

The game’s total points, 117, fell well under the pregame over/under line of 139.5, a direct result of Jacksonville’s scoring woes. The result also defied the pregame analytics, as Interstat’s ELO system had projected the Dolphins with a 58 percent probability to win at home.