University of North Florida
Francis Marion
UNF men rally past Francis Marion 57-53 in Peach Belt action
2/17/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (Jan. 22, 2005) - Finally, a happy ending.
After playing close time and time again this season only to falter in the waning moments, the University of North Florida men's basketball team finally put a stop to its second-half swoons on Saturday afternoon at UNF Arena.
The Ospreys (7-13, 2-4 Peach Belt) rallied from a four-point deficit over the final 3:38 behind a pair of key baskets from sophomore guard Anthony Earl Jr. and clutch free throw shooting by junior Riley Didion to slide past Francis Marion, 57-53, in Peach Belt Conference action.
Earl tied a career high with 19 points, hitting 5-of-8 shots from 3-point range, to give the Ospreys their second consecutive Peach Belt win following an 0-4 start. David Ashwell added 14 points for UNF.
"Without Derrick Scott (foot injury) and James Grimball (hand injury), the other guys on our team stepped up and made plays," UNF head coach Matt Kilcullen said. "I am so proud of our team. They don't know the word quit. They have been through a lot this season, and things could have easily gone the other way today. Our guys just gutted it out."
UNF had just eight players available because of the injuries to Scott and Grimball, but only six saw significant action. Earl was the only reserve to play more than four minutes in the game.
"We had the hearts of champions today," Kilcullen said. "Anthony Earl Jr. had a fantastic day shooting the ball, but this was a total team win."
Following a back-and-forth second half, which featured four ties and two lead changes, Francis Marion (8-8, 3-3 Peach Belt) took control with a 6-0 run to erase UNF's 49-47 lead. Louis McCullough's 3-pointer with 3:38 to play stretched the Patriots' lead to 53-49. UNF turned the ball over on its next possession, and once again the Ospreys seemed destined for collapse.
Tenacious defense and Earl's clutch scoring - the last coming on a 3-pointer which pushed UNF ahead 54-53 with 1:24 to play - allowed the Ospreys to scratch back.
Francis Marion never scored again, misfiring on its final four field-goal attempts. Didion then hit three of his four free-throw attempts in the final 13 seconds to preserve the win.
Reinaldo Charles led the Patriots with 17 points, while McCullough finished with 15. FMU committed only five turnovers but shot just 33 percent for the game and only 31 percent from 3-point range (9-of-29).
UNF shot 44 percent (20-of-46) and outrebounded the Patriots, 40-27.
The Ospreys will return to action on Wednesday when they travel to Columbus (Ga.) State for a Peach Belt Conference rematch. The Cougars upended UNF, 82-75, at UNF Arena on Jan. 12. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m. at CSU's Lumpkin Center. The game will be aired in Jacksonville on WIOJ-AM 1010 and via the World Wide Web at www.unf.edu/sports.
