University of North Florida
CAMPBELL
Ospreys tumble at Campbell
1/28/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 28, 2006
BUIES CREEK, N.C. - Shortly after the conclusion of Campbell's victory over North Florida in men's basketball on Saturday afternoon, the fire alarms erupted at tiny Carter Gymnasium.
The alarms signified nothing - simply and errant pull of the switch by someone -but were appropriate considering the circumstances.
The Camels (7-12, 6-6 A-Sun) blistered the nets and torched UNF from start to finish in the rematch of Atlantic Sun Conference foes, riding a late first-half run and an early second-half explosion to a 93-75 win over the Ospreys (5-14, 2-10 A-Sun).
Campbell's Maurice Latham scored 25 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, and Eric Smith added 25 points with six 3-pointers, to lead the Camels' charge. CU shot 52 percent for the game and forced 20 UNF turnovers, which led to 31 points.
"I told our guys after the game that this is the first time all year where we were outplayed on both ends of the floor," UNF head coach Matt Kilcullen said. "You have to give all the credit in the world to Campbell. They executed their offense to perfection, and played great defensively. It seemed like every time we were in position to make a run, we would turn the ball over or a miss a big shot. It just wasn't our day."
UNF knocked off the Camels on Jan. 19 behind strong rebounding and protecting the basketball. The Ospreys could do neither in Saturday's rematch. Campbell outrebounded UNF 36-34, including 16 offensive rebounds. The Camels also effectively shut down UNF's leading scorer, Alain Laroche, who finished with just seven points. Laroche did have 16 rebounds, a career high.
Rashad Williams and Ryan Daugherty each scored 17 points to lead UNF, but the duo also combined for nine turnovers and had just three total rebounds combined.
The Ospreys fell behind early in the first half but battled back to tie the game 25-25 on Rashad Williams' jumper with 9:35 to play before halftime. From there, the Camels went on a 21-8 run, stretching their lead to 46-33 at halftime.
In the second half, UNF sliced its deficit to 11 points out of the gates, and had possession of the ball with a chance to get closer. A turnover led to an easy Campbell basket by Diego Aguiar on the other end, however, igniting a 7-2 run by the Camels.
From there, Campbell turned up the heat, stretching its lead out to as many as 29 points in the final four minutes - the largest lead by and UNF opponent this season.
UNF will complete a two-game North Carolina road swing on Monday night when it travels to Boiling Springs to face Gardner-Webb. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. The game will be aired in Jacksonville on WIOJ- AM 1010 and via the World Wide Web at www.UNFOspreys.com.
