University of North Florida
STETSON
UNF drops OT heartbreaker
1/18/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 18, 2007
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - Chris Timberlake's running layup at the end of regulation forced overtime for the University of North Florida men's basketball team on Thursday night, but the Ospreys faltered down the stretch in overtime in a 63-60 loss to Stetson at UNF Arena.
The Ospreys missed went just 2-for-7 from the floor in the extra period, while Stetson sank 8-of- 12 attempts free throw attempts to seal the victory. UNF (2-15, 0-8 A-Sun) dropped its sixth straight game, while Stetson (7-12, 3-5 A-Sun) won back-to- back games for only the second time this year.
James Grimball scored 18 points and Timberlake added 17 for UNF, but those performances weren't enough to stave off a home overtime loss to the Hatters for the second consecutive season.
"Our guys played hard and made plays in the second half to get ahead," UNF head coach Matt Kilcullen said. "We just didn't make as many plays as we needed in the last few minutes. The free throw bug bit us a little bit, and we made some bad decisions at key times. We just have to keep working. Better days are ahead for this team."
UNF led 48-44 with 1:42 remaining in regulation, but couldn't hold it. Garfield Blair hit a layup and a pair of free throws to tie the game at 48 with 55 seconds remaining, and Kris Thomas' free throws with six seconds to play gave the Hatters a 50-48 lead. Timberlake took the inbounds pass and dribbled the length of the floor from there and hit his running shot as time expired to force overtime.
The teams exchanged buckets to start the overtime period, but Stetson took over after that. Gabe McMillan's 3-pointer with 1:51 to play put the Hatters up 57-53, and after a UNF turnover, a pair of McMillan free throws put pushed Stetson ahead by six.
UNF sliced its deficit to 63-60 with a Jonson Yousefzadeh 3-pointer with nine seconds to play. Stetson's Mark Lohuis then missed two free throws on the other end with six seconds to play to set up another potential buzzer-beater, but Aaron Caruthers' 3-pointer misfired on the other end as time expired.
UNF shot 41 percent for the game but hit just two of seven shots from 3-point range. Stetson shot 37 percent and hit 8-of-24 shots from beyond the arc. UNF was just 16-of-25 from the free throw line.
Blair led Stetson with 15 points.
UNF returns to action on Saturday at UNF Arena when it plays host to A-Sun foe Mercer. Game time is set for 4 p.m. The game will be aired locally on WIOJ-AM 1010.
