BOX SCORE
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The University of North Florida men's basketball team got down to defensive basics in its game against Concordia College on Friday night at UNF Arena.
After struggling at times to slow down opponents in their first two games of the season against Maryland and Tulsa, the Ospreys had no such trouble against the Clippers – putting on a clinic over the final 20 minutes in pulling away for a 57-41 win.
UNF (1-2) allowed just nine points in the second half and held Concordia to 2-for-29 shooting from the floor over the final 20 minutes. The Clippers (0-1) shot just 24 percent for the game and hit just once from 3-point range in 12 attempts.
Senior Chris Timberlake scored 10 points to lead UNF, while Justin Cecil added eight points and 10 rebounds. Tom Hammonds scored eight points to help the Ospreys improve to 5-0 all time against the Clippers.
“I thought defensively that our team really stepped up in second half,” UNF head coach Matt Kilcullen said. “Offensively we need to do a better job as coaches, but that will come in time. The one thing we wanted to improve on after the Maryland and Tulsa games was our defense. We made that a priority, and it definitely showed tonight.”
Neither team protected the basketball, with the squads combining for 48 turnovers – 22 of which were committed by the Ospreys. Those miscues kept Concordia in the game early on after UNF darted out to a 14-6 lead over the first eight minutes. A 9-0 run pushed Concordia ahead 15-14 at the 10:33 mark, however, and the teams battled back and forth until UNF put together a spurt to forge back ahead just before halftime.
Four points by James Grimball fueled a 9-2 rally over the final four minutes to give the Ospreys a 35-32 lead at the intermission.
In the second half, UNF went to work and quickly put the game out reach – using a 14-0 run over the first seven minutes to build their biggest lead at 49-32. A Tom Hammonds free throw with 11:26 to play gave UNF a 50-35 margin, but the Ospreys wouldn't score again until the 2:49 mark.
Concordia managed just six points of its own during that stretch, however, and got only as close as nine points over the final 10 minutes in losing for the fourth time at UNF Arena.
The Clippers' Alban Shala led all scorers with 13 points, while Kenny Gaskins had seven points and 11 rebounds for Concordia.
UNF shot 36 percent for the game but hit just 2-of-15 shots from 3-point range (13 percent). The Ospreys held the rebounding advantage, 47-45.
UNF will face a much tougher assignment next week when it travels to Gainesville to take on the defending national champion Florida Gators. The game will be televised by SUN Sports with a scheduled 8 p.m. tipoff.
