University of North Florida
Jacksonville
Dolphins survive UNF rally
1/9/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 9, 2007
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - The University of North Florida men's basketball team saved one of its best performances of the season for when it mattered most.
The Ospreys battled back from a 13-point halftime deficit to claw to within a point with three minutes to play against cross-town rival Jacksonville University on Tuesday night at UNF Arena, but the Ospreys couldn't convert at the free throw line in key situations in losing 64-60 to the Dolphins in the SunTrust River City Rumble matchup.
UNF junior James Grimball recorded his fourth double-double in six games with 15 points and a career-high 16 rebounds, and sophomore Aaron Caruthers scored a career-high 20 points to ignite the furious second-half charge, but the Ospreys fell just short before a UNF record crowd 3,758 and a regional television audience that tuned in on CSS.
The Ospreys (2-13, 0-5 A-Sun) shot 54 percent in the second half and 48 percent for the game but hit just seven of 17 free throws in losing their third straight game.
Jesse Kimbrough scored 16 points for JU, including a clutch 3-pointer with 2:03 remaining that gave the Dolphins (7-8, 3-2 A-Sun) a four-point advantage and dug the Ospreys into a hole from which they couldn't recover.
"I was proud of our guys," UNF head coach Matt Kilcullen said. "We played with tremendous intensity there in the second half to get ourselves back into the game, but we have to learn to convert our opportunities at the free throw line. We didn't take advantage of the chances we had, and that hurt us. It was a great atmosphere, and our kids really fed off that as the night went along. It was a great atmosphere and a good game. The only thing that would have made it better was a win."
JU took control early, leading the entire first half behind five points from Kimbrough and six points from Tyrone Curnell. The Dolphins led by as many as seven points twice in the first 20 minutes, but Aaron Caruthers layup with two seconds to play cut the margin to 31-26 at the half.
In the second half, the Dolphins didn't slow down - using a 12-2 run to move out to a 45-32 lead with 12:53 remaining. From there, UNF began its comeback march - getting 11 consecutive points from Caruthers during a 13-3 run that brought the Ospreys to within a point at 52-51 with 5:20 remaining.
The Ospreys sliced their deficit to a point again at 54-53 on a Grimball free throw with 2:36 remaining. Kimbrough answered with his backbreaking 3-pointer on the Dolphins ensuing possession, however, while UNF committed a pair of costly turnovers on their next two trips down the court to end the threat.
Chris Timberlake recorded his first career double- double for the Ospreys, tallying 10 points and 11 assists. The 11 assists was one shy of the school's single-game record.
UNF capped a seven-game homestand with the loss and will open a two-game A-Sun road swing on Saturday at East Tennessee State. Tipoff is set for 4 p.m., and the game will be aired locally on WIOJ-AM 1010.
