JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - The first day of the 2025 Atlantic Sun Conference (ASUN) Men's Basketball Championship saw Bellarmine, Stetson, FGCU and West Georgia advance into the quarterfinal round.
#8 Bellarmine 82, #9 Jacksonville 79
The Knights opened the Men's Tournament with a win against the Jacksonville Dolphins. Bellarmine kicked things off when Jack Karasinski netted a three-pointer. The teams exchanged points before the Knights pulled ahead 14-10, after Karasinski tallied 10 of their 14 points going into the first media timeout. Jacksonville cut the Knights lead to two when Sam Donald added a layup and a three-pointer to make the score 18-14. A 5-0 run from Tyler Doyle extended the Knights lead to nine with 7:34 left in the first half. After the Dolphins cut the lead to three points late in the quarter, the Knights went on a 10-0 run to take a 12 point lead into the half. The Knights shot 88.9 percent from the line while recording a 51.6 field goal percentage. In the second half, BU went on a 7-0 run extending their lead to 19, 56-37. Jacksonville took the lead at the eight minute mark before the Knights recorded six straight points to take a 1 point lead, 74-73 at the 4 minute mark. Brian Waddell added a dunk to the stat sheet to put the Knights ahead by one point with 14.3 seconds left in the matchup. Karasinski was sent to the line at the 2.4 mark and made his attempts to secure the two point victory and send the Knights to the quarterfinals inside VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena.
#5 FGCU 69, #12 North Alabama 58
The Eagles defeated North Alabama in the first postseason meeting between the programs since 2022, to secure a spot in Friday’s quarterfinal action. Michael Duax and Isaiah Malone led FGCU in scoring through the early stages of the first half with six points each at the first media timeout. The game was tied at 17 before Malone’s dunk put the Eagles out front at the 4:51 mark. The teams exchanged points and were tied at 24 with one minute left in the half before J.R. Konieczny and Jordan Ellerbee added five points to give the Eagles a two point, 29-27 lead heading into the half. North Alabama got within two of FGCU late in the game, but the Eagles offensive efforts continued to shine; after Konieczy drained a three-pointer with 38 seconds left, two free throws from Ellerbee sealed the deal as FGCU claimed the 69-58 win.
#10 Stetson 92, #7 EKU 76
The Hatters defeated EKU to earn a spot in Friday’s quarterfinals. Collin Kuhl opened the scoring for the Hatters with a pair of free throws and a tip-in to put Stetson ahead 4-2. Ethan Copeland netted a three-pointer to give the Hatters a 9-4 lead. Copeland led the team with 23 points, five rebounds and four assists while posting a 57.1 field goal percentage. The scoring continued for Stetson as they went on a 6-0 run to extend their lead to 10 points. After back and forth scoring between the two programs, Stetson went on a 12-0 run, with Alex Doyle scoring five of those points to take a 54-41 lead into halftime. The Hatters opened the second half with back-to-back threes from Finley Sheridan and Copeland. The Hatters continued to add points to the scoreboard before closing the game out with a Sheridan jumper to secure the victory.
#6 West Georgia 93, #11 North Florida 85
West Georgia earned the victory in the last men’s first-round matchup on Tuesday’s slate of games. Trailing 11-10 midway through the half, the Wolves subbed in Josh Smith who immediately hit a three-pointer to ignite a run, followed by a Brady Hardewig three that extended their lead to 17-10. Smith buried another three-pointer, and Shelton Williams-Dryden recorded a series of second-chance layups. A late Kolten Griffin three-pointer with 37 seconds left sent the Wolves into the locker room with a 48-35 lead at the half. West Georgia controlled the tempo for nearly the entire game, leading for over 37 minutes of the contest.
Follow @ASUNSports for updates throughout the postseason.