University of North Florida
Clayton State
UNF Defeats Clayton State in Third Meeting This Season
2/17/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
MORROW, Ga. (Feb. 16, 2005) - University of North Florida guard Riley Didion scored seven points in the last five minutes of play and Donny Lotz finished with a double-double in the Ospreys 58-51 win against Clayton State on Wednesday night in Morrow, Ga.
"I thought we played really well on the defensive end and bounced back nicely after a tough loss on Saturday," UNF coach Matt Kilcullen said. "I'm proud of the way Riley and Donnie played. This is a tough place to win."
After dropping two previous meeting with Clayton State (16-11, 9-4 PBC) this season, UNF halted its losing streak to the Lakers and captured its seventh win in its last 10 outings.
UNF took a 35-32 advantage into the locker room and didn't let up its defensive intensity in the second half. The Ospreys held Clayton State to 24 percent shooting in the second half and 33 percent for the game. North Florida also held the Lakers without a 3-point basket in the second frame.
While Didion gave UNF the spark it needed on the offensive end, Donny Lotz cleaned up most of those missed shots in the second half, pulling down 12 rebounds, all on the defensive end.
Didion gave UNF a 50-46 lead at the 4:59 mark, knocking down a shot at the buzzer, then hit another jumper with the shot clock winding down to give his team a 54-48 lead. Didion also knocked down two free throws in the final 10 seconds to put the game away.
Didion finished the game with 11 points, while Lotz led all players with 18. Derrick Scott followed him with 14.
Craig Butts led the Lakers with 13 points.
UNF outrebounded Clayton State 39-30, as David Aswell followed Lotz with seven rebounds.
Clayton State led by as many as five points in the first half, but UNF overcame the deficit and finished the opening frame with the advantage.
North Florida returns to UNF Arena on Saturday for a 4 p.m. homecoming matchup with USC Aiken. Audio coverage of the game can be heard locally on 1010 AM WIOJ.
