University of North Florida
Georgia College & State
UNF men battle past Georgia College & State, 66-63
2/17/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (Feb. 2, 2005) - Every night can't be a record-setter. Sometimes a win has to suffice.
The University of North Florida men's basketball team, fresh off a record-setting defensive performance four days ago, couldn't recapture its magic against Georgia College & State at UNF Arena on Wednesday night. The Ospreys did, however, manage to come up with clutch performances when they needed them most in posting a 66-63 win over the Bobcats in Peach Belt Conference play.
Behind 13 second-half points from Donny Lotz and a series of critical defensive stops, the Ospreys (9-14, 4-5 PBC) managed to overcome a brief second-half deficit for their fourth win in the last five games and their third straight win at home.
"We talked about defensive effort at halftime," UNF head coach Matt Kilcullen said. "They were really taking it to us in the first half. Our defensive intensity picked up a lot in the second half. Donny hit some big shots down the stretch, and we made enough plays at the end. It wasn't pretty, but it was a good, hard-fought game."
UNF shot 49 percent for the game (22-of-45) and got another solid performance from center David Ashwell. The junior scored 18 points, hitting five of six field goal attempts and eight of 10 free throws, to match his season high in scoring. Derrick Scott added 12 points for the Ospreys, including two clutch free throws in the final 10 seconds that sealed the win.
Lotz finished with 15 points.
Georgia College & State (10-9, 2-6 PBC) shot 42 percent for the game but went cold in the second half, hitting just 10 of 29 shots (34 percent) over the final 20 minutes. Justin Dickens led GC&SU with 21 points off the bench, while Ronnie Dennis added 12 points and Andre Smith 10. The Bobcats' leading scorer, Bryan Harrison, finished with just two points and managed only six shots in 37 minutes.
UNF has made a living on the defensive end of late, setting a school record with 39 points allowed in a win over Lander last Saturday. Georgia College & State didn't seem impressed by that number early.
The Bobcats shot 50 percent in the first half, hitting 4-of-9 from 3-point range, to take a 38-37 lead at the intermission. They led 41-37 two minutes into the second half before UNF took control. Ashwell's free throw tied the game at 41 with 15:43 to play, and a Lotz jumper pushed the Ospreys ahead for good a short time later.
The Ospreys led 63-54 with 1:12 to play, but Georgia College & State battled back to make a frenetic finish. A Justin Dickens dunk with three seconds left cut the score to its final margin, but Scott was able to dribble out the clock on the inbounds pass and give UNF its first ever season sweep of the Bobcats.
UNF will return to action on Saturday when it travels to UNC Pembroke in Peach Belt play. The men's-women's doubleheader is set to begin at 2 p.m., with the men's game starting at approximately 4 p.m. Both games will be carried in Jacksonville on WIOJ-AM 1010 and can be heard on the World Wide Web at www.unf.edu/sports.
