University of North Florida
Columbus State
Columbus State fires past UNF men in Peach Belt battle
2/17/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (Jan. 12, 2005) - Columbus State guard Yandel Brown continued with his hot hand on Wednesday night, scoring 26 points to lead the Cougars to an 82-75 win over North Florida in Peach Belt Conference men's basketball action at UNF Arena.
Brown, who leads the nation in scoring among Division II players, finished three points below his average but provided enough firepower to keep UNF (5-12, 0-3 PBC) at bay as the Cougars (9-4, 2-1 PBC) rallied from a four-point deficit in the final seven minutes to earn their fifth straight win against the Ospreys. Brown scored 18 of his points in the final 20 minutes.
With the loss, UNF dropped to 0-3 in league play for the first time since joining the Peach Belt in 1998-99 and only the third time in school history.
The Ospreys shot a blistering 55 percent from the floor, and outrebounded the Cougars 36-28, but 18 turnovers and a late dry spell doomed them when it counted most. Leading 66-62 with 6:57 to play, Columbus State used a 13-2 run over the next four minutes to pull away for the win. UNF sliced its deficit to 75-70 with 1:37 to go but could never get closer.
"When all is said and done, you simply can't turn the ball over 18 times and expect to win," UNF head coach Matt Kilcullen said. The last four minutes, we got turnovers and not shots, and that was the difference. When had good opportunities to score, the shots just didn't fall."
UNF senior Donny Lotz scored 27 points, tying a career high, and grabbed 10 rebounds for his 13th career double-double. David Ashwell and Chris Timberlake each added 10 points for UNF.
Columbus State hit 10-of-19 shots from 3-point range and shot 51 percent for the game. UNF was just 4-of-13 from beyond the arc. Kendrick Jones added 24 points for the Cougars.
UNF returns to action on Saturday when it travels to face Peach Belt foe Augusta State at 4 p.m. The game will be carried locally on WIOJ-AM 1010 and via the World Wide Web at www.unf.edu/sports.
