UNF falls for second night in a row

Friday, November 21

Provo, Utah

8 p.m.

University of North Florida

1-2

Cal-Poly

0-3

Cal Poly

North Florida

Stan Januska scored a season-high 14 points against Cal-Poly.

11/21/2008 11:29:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

Cal-Poly run leads to 76-42 loss

By: Shawn LaFata

Box Score

BYU Traveler's Invitational Blog

PROVO, Utah – The University of North Florida didn't get off to the start it was looking for against Cal-Poly at the BYU Traveler's Invitational in a 76-42 loss on Friday night.

Cal-Poly (1-2) put together a 28-2 run in the opening half of play and held the Ospreys to 14 points in the frame in building an early 24-point advantage at the break. The story didn't get much better in the second half for the Ospreys (0-3), which have dropped their first two matchups in Utah and averaged only 41.5 points in those outings against BYU and Cal-Poly.

Stan Januska was one of the bright spots on the night for the Ospreys, leading the team with a season-high 14 points. Cortez Riley also scored in double figures, ending the game with 11 points.

Two Mustangs scored in double figures, led by Lorenzo Keeler who knocked down five shots beyond the 3-point arc and finished the contest with 23 overall. Titus Shelton followed him with 11 points.

"I was disappointed on the defensive end, we didn't play well enough on that end of the floor," UNF head coach Matt Kilcullen said. "We have a young team, and they have to learn to trust the gameplan. Our opponents know we have a lot of freshmen on our team and they are going to do everything they can to test us."

Januska scored UNF's first five points of the game, helping the Ospreys grab an early advantage. UNF, however, missed its first three free throws and a couple of open looks that allowed Cal-Poly to stay in the game. The Mustangs eventually took an 11-5 advantage, cashing in on a few easy baskets in the paint, then took off, putting together a 28-2 run that Zack Riggins finally broke with a turnaround jumper in the paint.

Those two points were part of a season-high eight points for the freshman who fouled out in the second half.

UNF trailed 38-14 at the half, hitting 4-of-30 shots from the field and for the second night in a row missing all of their 3-point attempts. UNF was 1-of-14 behind the 3-point arc for the game. Januska scored eight of UNF's 14 points in the first half, while Keeler had 14 for the Mustangs, matching the Ospreys' point output by himself. Cal-Poly outscored UNF 14-2 off the bench in the opening half, and hit four shots beyond the 3-point arc, while scoring 16 in the paint.

UNF scored seven of the first 10 points to begin the second half of play, with Riggins scoring four of those points. That small run cut the Mustangs' advantage to 24, but the Ospreys would get no closer.

Cal-Poly went on a 10-2 run to take a 54-22 advantage that Chaz Thomas capped off with a jumper.

Riley scored six of his points in the final 11 minutes of play to tie his season-high of 11 points. He also pulled down six rebounds, helping UNF finish behind 45-43 in the rebounding battle. Riggins and Matta Sauey finished tied for a game-high seven rebounds.

The Ospreys shot 25 percent for the game, while Cal-Poly shot 44.3 percent. UNF had 19 turnovers in the contest, compared to 13 Mustang turnovers.

The BYU Traveler's Invitational wraps up on Saturday when UNF takes on Rice at 8 p.m. EST.