Ospreys drop season opener to Henderson State at Disney Classic

Friday, November 12

Orlando, Fla.

6:00 PM

University of North Florida

Henderson State

Ospreys drop season opener to Henderson State at Disney Classic

2/17/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball

GAME NOTES l BOX SCORE

ORLANDO, Fla. (Nov. 12, 2004) - The University of North Florida men's basketball team at times proved to be its own worst enemy on Friday night against Henderson State.

The Ospreys committed 19 turnovers and shot just 28 percent from the floor in dropping their season opener to the Reddies, 65-43, in the opening round of the Disney Division II Tip-Off Classic. UNF's leading scorer last season, Donny Lotz, failed to score, while second-leading scorer Derrick Scott managed just two points on a night when the Henderson State man-to-man defense harassed, hurried and intimidated the Ospreys from start to finish.

UNF sliced an 18-point first-half deficit to nine points early in the second half but couldn't get closer in dropping their season opener at the Wide World of Sports Milk House. The game was also Henderson State's opener.

"We were concerned about two things coming into the game - defensive rebounding and executing under pressure," UNF head coach Matt Kilcullen said. "We knew that Henderson State played a physical, tough man-to-man defense. We didn't respond well to that pressure. We had five assists and 19 turnovers, and you can't beat too many teams when you play offensive basketball like that."

Tyrell Hightower provided most of the damage for the Reddies, scoring 13 of his game-high 16 points in the first half. Eddie Withers added 12 points for HSU, which led 30-19 at intermission.

A layup by sophomore center James Grimball sliced that deficit to 30-21 just nine seconds into the second half, but Henderson State put the game away from there. A 12-0 run over the next seven minutes pushed the Reddies out to a 42-21 advantage, and UNF could never recover.

The Reddies stymied Lotz and Scott, who combined for a 1-for-12 shooting performance and seven turnovers. Grimball did his part to keep the Ospreys in the game, scoring 15 points, including seven from the free-throw line (7-of-10). Freshman Tom Abernathy added eight points for UNF.

"I thought we saw some positive things in the game," Kilcullen said. "Our press was effective at times, and the young guys coming off our bench played well I thought. Tom Abernathy was very impressive in his first game. We've got plenty to build on."

Henderson State shot 55 percent (24-of-44) and outrebounded the Ospreys, 36-32. UNF forced 24 turnovers, to stay within striking distance and help fuel their first-half rally.

The Ospreys will face Florida Gulf Coast, which lost 74-63 to North Dakota on Friday, in a loser's bracket game on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. UNF will then play again on Sunday at either 1 p.m. or 8:30 p.m.