Jacksonville hangs on to beat Florida Gulf Coast 83-80

Feb 1, 2016, 09:41 pm

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- J.R. Holder scored 23 points and Jacksonville hung on to beat Florida Gulf Coast 83-80 on Monday night.

Jacksonville held a 65-50 lead with 11:01 left. But the Eagles battled back, cutting the lead to 79-77 after two Zach Johnson free throws with 47 seconds remaining.

Marcel White answered with two free throws for a four-point lead and after Johnson hit a 3-pointer to pull within one, Darien Fernandez hit two from the stripe with a second left.

Holder shot an efficient 7 of 11 from the field and hit 8 of 10 free throws. Kori Babineaux finished with 22 points and White had 18 for the Dolphins (14-11, 6-2 Atlantic Sun), who have won four straight and six of seven.

Johnson hit four 3-pointers and led Florida Gulf Coast (13-11, 4-4) with 25 points. Marc Eddy Norelia added 22 points for the Eagles, who have lost four straight league games after starting 4-0.