Box Score
GULFPORT, Miss. – The University of North Florida men's basketball team got two clutch free throws from freshman Jerron Granberry with 17 seconds remaining and held on to beat Canisius, 65-61, on Monday, Dec. 21, in the first game of the South Mississippi Christmas Classic at Bert Jenkins Gymnasium.
Leading 63-55 with 2:18 remaining, Canisius scored six straight points to close the gap to 63-61 with just 17 seconds left. Granberry was then fouled on the inbounds pass and calmly went to the line and sank the clinching free throws as the Golden Griffins missed two final shots.
The Ospreys will face New Orleans on Tuesday, Dec. 22, at 5:30 p.m. ET, and wrap up the three-game tournament vs. Southern Miss on Wednesday, Dec. 23, at 8 p.m. ET. These two games are the last games of a five-games-in-eight-days road trip.
The New Orleans game will be joined in progress at approximately 6 p.m. ET on AM 1320 WBOB and 103.7 FM in Jacksonville or on-line at 1320WBOB.com. The Southern Miss game will air live.
Freshman forward Andy Diaz paced four North Florida players in double digit points with a career high 17. Sophomore forward Matt Sauey had 14, Granberry 13 and junior point guard Brad Haugabrook 10. Haugabrook also led the Ospreys with six rebounds, five assists and three steals.
North Florida is 2-7 on the year and 0-2 in Atlantic Sun Conference play but had played the seventh toughest strength of schedule in the country coming into today's games according to the Sagarin Ratings. The Ospreys have now played eight of their first nine games on the road, including games at Notre Dame (Big East), Illinois State (Missouri Valley), Alabama (SEC), Northwestern (Big Ten) and Marquette (Big East).
After trailing by nine points with 11:17 left in the first half, North Florida rattled off eight straight points in a 1:04 to close to within 18-17 at the 10:03 mark. The game remained tight with UNF finally taking only its second lead (led 2-0) of the half at 29-28 with 1:52 left before the break. Haugabrook hit a short jumper at the halftime buzzer to give UNF its largest lead of the half at 35-30.
North Florida had its largest lead of nine at three different times in the second half, with the last being 49-40 with 10:14 remaining. They maintained the lead before Canisius made a run to cut the lead to 53-51 with 5:47 left. The run was thwarted by a Germaine Sparkes 3-pointer as UNF regained its eight point cushion before the final surge by the Golden Griffins.
North Florida shot 50 percent (24-48) from the field for the game, 28.6 percent (4-14) from 3-point range and 650.0 (13-20) from the free throw line. Diaz scored 11 points for the Ospreys in the first half Sauey added 10 as UNF shot 48 percent (12-25) from the field in the first half.
Canisius shot 42.6 percent (23-54) from the field, 21.4 percent (3-14) from 3-point range and 66.7 percent (12-18) from the line. Frank Turner paced the Golden Griffins with 19 points.
“I'm extremely happy for our players and staff that we endured and came out with the prize,” said North Florida head coach Matthew Driscoll. “We had so many team plays throughout the game, leading to assists 16 times on 24 made baskets, which is a huge sign of growth for our program. Four players in double figures plus closing out the half and end of the game as we did shows signs that we are moving in the right direction.”
After the tournament in Gulfport, North Florida finally returns home after opening the season with 10 of its first 11 games on the road. The Ospreys play host to Palm Beach Atlantic on Dec. 30 at 7 p.m. at UNF Arena.
A season ticket for basketball is $120 and includes all men's and women's home games, a total of 28 games on 19 event dates, including nine Atlantic Sun Conference double headers. A special rate is available for UNF Alumni ($110) and UNF Faculty and Staff ($105). A Family 4-pack is also available for the season at $360. Select seating areas require an Osprey Club membership (per seat donation).
Single-game pricing is $10 for adults and $8 for youth 17-and-under and senior citizens 55-and-older. Children 2-and-under and any current UNF student with a valid Osprey1 Card are admitted free. Student guest passes are $5 and limited to one per student.
For more information or to purchase basketball season tickets call 904-620-BIRD (2473) or email ospreytickets@unf.edu.
