University of North Florida
Augusta State
UNF men fall in Peach Belt road game at Augusta State
2/17/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
AUGUSTA, Ga. (Jan. 15, 2005) - The late- game blues continued for the University of North Florida men's basketball team against Augusta State on Saturday afternoon.
Once again the Ospreys had a chance in the waning minutes, but couldn't muster enough punch down the stretch to earn their first Peach Belt Conference win of the year.
Augusta State's Cameron Tovey scored 15 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to lead the Jaguars to a 60- 53 win at Christenberry Fieldhouse, dropping UNF to 5-13 overall and 0-4 in Peach Belt play.
Augusta State improved to 9-6 and 2-2.
UNF forced 20 turnovers and outrebounded the Jaguars, 36-34, but couldn't connect at the free throw line in the second half. The Ospreys hit just 13- of-25 attempts from the stripe over the final 20 minutes and only 18-of-33 for the game. UNF also shot only 33 percent from the floor (16-of-49).
"I thought we played much better down the stretch," UNF head coach Matt Kilcullen said. "We gave ourselves shots. We just didn't finish as strong as we needed to. Sooner or later, it will click. Right now our character is being tested. We just have to keep it together and keep working hard."
Donny Lotz led UNF with 18 points, while Derrick Scott and Chris Timberlake added 10 apiece.
Neither team came out particularly sharp, with the clubs settling down for a defensive battle in the first half. The squads combined for seven ties and nine lead changes in the first 10 minutes and finally settled for a 22-22 tie at the intermission following a pair of free throws by UNF's Riley Didion just before the break.
In the second half, after another seven ties and four lead changes, Augusta State finally took control for good when Jason Mills nailed a 3-pointer from the corner with 4:12 to play, stretching ASU's lead to 44-39. After the Jaguars increased their lead to 48-41 with 1:51 to play, the teams settled into a free-throw shooting contest.
Over the final two minutes, ASU hit 13-of- 16 attempts from the line while UNF hit just 7-of-12.
UNF returns to action on Wednesday when it travels to Georgia College & State in Milledgeville. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m., with the game to be carried live on WIOJ-AM 1010 and via the World Wide Web at www.unf.edu/sports.
