FGCU alone in first after 65-59 victory against Norse

HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. (AP) Jamail Jones scored a career-high 25 points and Florida Gulf Coast edged Northern Kentucky 65-59 on Thursday night to take sole possession of first place in the Atlantic Sun Conference with its seventh straight win.

Brett Comer scored 11 points for the Eagles (18-7, 8-1) to move into second on the program's all-time scoring list with 1,371 points. Bernard Thompson, FGCU's all-time leader with 1,727, scored just six while hampered by foul trouble, but did grab a season-high 10 rebounds.

Northern Kentucky was led by 19 points from Tayler Persons.

The Norse (10-14, 4-5) closed the first half on a 17-5 run for a two-point lead. The Eagles took the lead for good with 13:10 to go but the game stayed tight. The Norse closed to 61-59 on Johnson's 3-pointer with 57 seconds left. However, Jones scored underneath and Julian DeBose added a breakaway dunk after a turnover for FGCU.