University of North Florida
GARDNER-WEBB
UNF starts cold in loss
1/27/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 27, 2007
BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. - The University of North Florida men's basketball team couldn't find the magic combination on Saturday night when it faced off against Atlantic Sun Conference foe Gardner-Webb.
The Ospreys couldn't find the right defense to slow down Gardner-Webb's outside shooting, couldn't find the magic offensive combination to put points on the board, and couldn't overcome an icy start in falling 72-46 to the Bulldogs at Porter Arena.
Gardner-Webb (6-15, 4-6 A-Sun) hit 11 3- pointers and jumped out to an early 22-point lead and never looked back in handing UNF (2-19, 0-11 A- Sun) its eighth consecutive loss. The Bulldogs shot 42 percent for the game, collected 15 of their 42 rebounds on the offensive end and held the Ospreys to just 34 percent shooting in improving to 5-1 all- time in the series.
Thomas Sanders and Takayo Siddle each scored 14 points to lead the GWU onslaught, while Ricky McPhee added 13 points.
UNF was led in scoring by James Grimball's 17 points, but the Ospreys' big man got two quick fouls in the first minute of the game to be forced to the bench early, leaving the squad to sputter along without his inside threat. UNF fell behind 13-0 and didn't score a field goal until Germaine Sparkes hit a baseline runner with 10:39 to play in the half.
Gardner-Webb continued to pour in outside bombs from there in stretching its lead to 31-9 with 3:51 to play before halftime. A 7-0 UNF run just before halftime cut the Ospreys' deficit to 33-20 at the intermission.
In the second half, Grimball hit a layup to pull UNF within 11 at 33-22, but the Ospreys could not get closer. A 9-0 Gardner-Webb run pushed the lead back to 20 points over the next two minutes and all but wrapped up the final outcome.
"It was one of those night when nothing we did seemed to work," UNF head coach Matt Kilcullen said. "They found holes in our zone and hit some big threes, and they killed us on the offensive glass. They did whatever they wanted to do. Getting (Grimball) in foul trouble early really hurt us and took away what we wanted to do. We just never recovered."
UNF returns to action on Tuesday night when it travels to Savannah State for a non- conference matchup. 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.
