UNF defense stifles Owls in win

Friday, January 9

UNF Arena

7 p.m.

University of North Florida

-312, 14 ASun

Kennesaw State

-58, 12 ASun

Kennesaw State

North Florida

Matt Sauey led all players with 15 points.

1/9/2009 10:31:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

Sauey scores 15, Sparkes pulls down 13 rebounds

By: Shawn LaFata

Box Score

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The University of North Florida men's basketball team captured its first win in Atlantic Sun Conference play this season thanks to a defense that shut down Kennesaw State, holding the Owls to 30.9 percent shooting in a 66-44 victory.

The win snapped a four-game skid for the Ospreys (3-12, 1-4 A-Sun), gave UNF its largest margin of a victory against an NCAA Division I opponent and gave UNF its biggest win against the Owls (5-8, 1-3 A-Sun) in 22 meetings with the team.

UNF got it done on both side of the court, holding Kennesaw State to 16 points in the second half while putting four players in double figures on the offensive end.

"Our defense had key stops when we needed them," UNF head coach Matt Kilcullen said. "We played hard and we played aggressive. We played to win and that's the mentality of this team."

Freshman Matt Sauey led the Ospreys with 15 points on the night to go along with three blocks. He was one of four starters to finish in double figures with Cortez Riley (13), Eni Cuka (12) and Kyle Groothuis (10) finishing just behind him. Germaine Sparkes narrowly missed double figures on the night, scoring nine points and pulling down a career-high 13 rebounds.

"I got a couple of rebounds early in the game and eventually they started falling in my hands," Sparkes said. "The rebounds motivated everybody and we went back on the offensive end and turned them into points."

UNF controlled the boards, outrebounding Kennesaw State 48-33. The Ospreys pulled down 20 offensive rebounds and cashed them in for 19 second-chance points.

The Ospreys took a 35-28 advantage into the locker room at half time and kept building on that in the second half. Stan Januska gave the Ospreys their first double-digit lead of the game with a baseline jumper at the 15:16 mark of the second half.

Riley put UNF ahead 45-33 at the 13:17 mark, sparking a 14-3 rally that proved to be too much for the Owls to overcome. Sauey dominated the post during that run, scoring eight points to go along with a blocked shot on the defensive end. He finished the night 7-of-9 from the field with five rebounds and a steal. The freshman helped UNF clamp down on Kennesaw State and hold the team to only six made shots in the second half while setting a season-high with 48 rebounds.

Kennesaw State held the advantage through the first five minutes of play until a Sauey layup tied the game 12-12 at the 14:25 mark of the half. Two possessions later Riley put his squad up 15-12, giving the Ospreys a lead they would never relinquish the rest of the way. UNF led by as many as nine in the half after Riley's second 3-pointer of the frame made it a 35-26 contest in the final minute of play.

Groothuis led the Ospreys with eight points in the half while Cuka had seven. Jonathan Whipple scored 10 to lead all players but was held to only two points in the second half. He finished tied with Jon-Michael Nickerson with a team-high 12 points. Whipple also collected a team-high six rebounds for Kennesaw State.

The Ospreys will look for their second-straight win and third win in four outings at UNF Arena when they host Mercer on Sunday at 2 p.m.