University of North Florida
FIU
Ospreys fall at FIU, 71-57
2/14/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 14, 2006
MIAMI, Fla. - Life on the road has been a challenge for the UNF men's basketball team during the 2005-06 season - a trend that continued on Tuesday afternoon when the Ospreys squared off with Florida International.
Another slow start was followed by cold second-half shooting to doom the Ospreys in their final road game of the year, a 71-57 loss to FIU at Pharmed Arena.
Rashad Williams scored 20 points to lead UNF (6-19), but it wasn't enough to overcome 24 percent shooting by the Ospreys over the final 20 minutes. FIU (7-16) got 17 points from Ivan Almonte and 15 points apiece from Johwen Villegas and Kenny Simms in posting their fourth win in seven games.
The Ospreys trailed 36-28 at halftime and fell behind by 16 points midway through the second half. A 14-2 run trimmed that deficit to 52-48 with 8:15 remaining, but the Ospreys could never get closer. FIU outscored UNF 19-9 the rest of the way to hand the Ospreys their 17th consecutive road loss and 15th this season.
"I was proud of our guys," UNF head coach Matt Kilcullen said. "They battled and gave us a chance. I can live with the effort. We just couldn't score when we needed to at the end of the game. We just couldn't get over the hump."
UNF shot 36 percent for the game (21-of-59), while FIU shot 48 percent (20-of-42). The Golden Panthers outrebounded the Ospreys 35-30 and also hit 26-of- 36 from the free throw line. UNF hit just 12-of-17 free throws and committed 14 turnovers - 10 of those in the first half.
The Ospreys followed a recent pattern in the early going - falling behind big out of the gates before battling back. The Panthers went ahead 7-0 in the first three minutes, and UNF couldn't find the basket until the 16:34 mark when Chris Timberlake's jumper finally put the Ospreys on the board.
A 5-0 run by UNF a short time later pulled the Ospreys to within 15-12, but FIU answered with a 9-0 run to re-take control. The Panthers led 36-28 at halftme.
In the second half, a 12-4 run gave the Panthers their biggest lead of the game at 48-32 with 15:17 to play, a margin they would reach two more times before UNF started its rally. A three-point play by Williams brought the Ospreys within four points, but a pair of turnovers and four missed shots on their next five possessions ended the UNF threat.
UNF will return to Jacksonville to conclude the 2005-06 season with a three-game homestand. The Ospreys will face Stetson on Friday and Mercer on Sunday in Atlantic Sun Conference play before capping the season by playing host to Florida Atlantic on Feb. 23.
