JACKSONVILLE, Fla.– Georgia Southern men's basketball (0-3) trailed wire-to-wire in a matchup with Jacksonville (2-1), eventually falling 85-68 at Swisher Gymnasium.

Points were hard to come by early, as Avantae Parker sunk one of his free throws after the first media timeout to make it 6-3 Jacksonville.

Jamar Franklin nailed a three-pointer to make it a one-point game, but that is as close as the Eagles would make it in the first. The Dolphins went on a quick 8-0 run to extend the lead to 15-6.

Deuce Dean scored ten points in the first half as the Eagles shot 40 percent, but the Dolphins scorched to a 51.9 percent shooting rate to pull away. Dean's buzzer-beating three-pointer cut the deficit to 46-39 at the break.

Layups by Parker and Nate Brafford made it closer as the second began, and Dean cut it to as close as four with one of his own early on.

The Eagles fell off a bit after this early spurt, but still had a late stretch run in them, bringing the lead back down to eight after a Parker rebound and score.

The Dolphins followed by extending the lead back to double digits and held serve, taking an 85-68 win at home.

Dean's 14 points led the way, while Malik Tidwell (13) and Parker (10) each contributed double-digits for the first time as Eagles. Brafford tied for the match lead with three blocks, a new career-best, while also grabbing five rebounds.

Overall, Jacksonville's 55.8 percent shooting mark and 50 percent rate from three-point range did the Eagles in. The three-point shooting struggles for the Eagles continued, recording another sub-30 percent performance from deep.

Georgia Southern has three games in three days coming up, participating in the TowneBank Holiday Classic hosted by East Carolina beginning on Sunday.