Sophomore guard Ben Smith scored 22 points, while sophomore forward Lehmon Colbert added 15 as the Dolphins of Jacksonville (2-0) defeated host South Carolina State (0-3) 76-64 in the Bulldogs’ home opener Wednesday at Smith-Hammond-Middleton Memorial Center.

Leading the way for SC State was senior guard Derrick Davis with 13 points and junior center Chris Miller-Williams with 11 in the loss.

The Bulldogs jumped out to an early18-7 lead on a lay-up by freshman guard Carrio Bennett at the 10:28 mark in the first half. A three-pointer by senior guard Derrick Davis gave the Bulldogs their biggest lead of the night 21-10 with 9:44 left in the first half.

Jacksonville, however, chipped away at the lead and used a 17-9 run to close the gap 27-24 at the 6:24 mark of the opening half. A lay-up by Smith cut the lead to three 31-28 with 4:51 left in the half.

Lehmon Colbert then hit a clutch three-pointer with 0:52 seconds left to bring the Dolphins within one, at 36-35, at the half.

The second-half belonged to Jacksonville which took its first lead of the night, 52-49, on a three-pointer by Colbert with 8:49 left in the game. The Dolphins built a10-point lead, at 69-59, on a jumper by freshman forward Ayron Hardy with 3:34 left, and took their largest lead, 72-59, with 2:41 showing. The closest SC State came after that was 11 points twice, the last time at 74-63 with 1:01 on the clock.

SC State returns to action Tuesday when the Bulldogs travel to Chapel Hill, NC to face the top-ranked North Carolina Tar Heels. Game time is 7 p.m.