University of North Florida
Western Illinois
UNF rally falls short vs. WIU
12/30/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 30, 2005
ORLANDO, Fla. - The North Florida basketball team flirted with the improbable against Western Illinois in the consolation game of the UCF Holiday Classic on Friday night.
In the end, the Ospreys simply couldn't finish the job in losing, 58-52.
Despite playing without their leading scorer - senior Alain Laroche - and falling behind by as many as 18 points in the second half, the Ospreys battled back to within three points in the final two minutes and had three possessions with an opportunity to tie. They failed to score in the final 1:36, however, in losing their fourth straight game.
Senior Derrick Scott scored 12 points to lead UNF (3- 6), while Rashad Williams and Carl McNally each added 11 points. Fred Oguns led Western Illinois (4- 6) with 19 points, including 12 in the second half.
"I was proud of how our guys battled back after getting down," UNF head coach Matt Kilcullen said. "I keep teaching our players that they have to play great defense so that on nights when the shots don't fall we can stay in game. I was proud of our defensive effort, and how we kept working to give ourselves a chance. We had the shots we wanted; they just didn't fall."
Laroche was unable to play after suffering a sprained wrist in the Ospreys' loss to UCF on Thursday night. The senior was averaging nearly 20 points and 10 rebounds per game for the Ospreys, and his absence was glaring in the first half.
The Ospreys shot just 23 percent from the floor (5-of-22) in the first 20 minutes and failed to string together back-to-back baskets before halftime. The Ospreys also committed seven turnovers and twice went for five-minute stretches without scoring.
Western Illinois led 25-16 at halftime.
In the second half, the Leathernecks put together a 15-6 run out of the gates to take their biggest lead of the game - 40-22 with 14:06 remaining. The teams battled back and forth over the next three minutes before the Ospreys began their final charge.
A 9-1 UNF run pulled the Ospreys within nine points with seven minutes to play, and another 7-0 run cut the margin to 55-52 with 1:36 to play. From there, a pair of point-blank shot misfired by Williams and Chris Timberlake, and Western Illinois was able to ice the game at the free throw line.
UNF shot 48 percent in the second half and finished at 37 percent for the game, while Western Illinois shot 43 percent for the game. All of Williams' points came during UNF's second-half surge, while McNally scored nine of his points during the run.
The Ospreys will dive back into Atlantic Sun Conference play this week when they travel to DeLand to face Stetson at 7 p.m. and then travel to Macon for a game with Mercer on Wednesday at noon.
