Jacksonville's Darius Dawkins sinks 13 threes in one game

Jacksonville’s Darius Dawkins went from scoring zero points Saturday night to entering the record books three nights later.

The senior forward scored 41 points and sank 13 of 17 threes against Middle Georgia on Tuesday night to power the Dolphins to a 124-85 victory.

Dawkins became the sixth player in Division I history to sink 13 or more 3-pointers in the same game. Marshall’s Keith Veney set the record with 15 threes against Morehead State in Dec. 1996, while Ohio’s Dave Jamerson and Kansas State’s Askia Jones knocked down 14 threes apiece in 1994 and 1989, respectively.

In a postgame interview on Tuesday night, Dawkins said he wasn’t feeling himself all night. Early in the game, he missed two of the first three 3-pointers he took.

“The first one felt good,” Dawkins told reporters. “And then I missed my next two and I was like, ‘Ah, it’s going to be an off one tonight.’ And then luckily, a couple shots kept going and my teammates kept finding me.”

It was the opposite of an off night. The man could not miss. And he was feeling his shot so much he said he didn’t even realize that he went a perfect 7-for-7 from beyond the arc in the second half.

After the game, Dawkins was all smiles as he graciously thanked teammates and coaches for giving him the ball and drawing up plays for him.

His performance even caught the eye of ESPN SportsCenter’s Scott Van Pelt, who kicked off his show with a clip of Dawkins’ shooting barrage.

Dawkins’ 41 points were a career high and his 13 3-pointers were also good for the single game record at Jacksonville. In Jacksonville’s previous 16 games this season, Dawkins had eclipsed double figures only four times.