Upset bid falls short for UNF

Sunday, February 1

UNF Arena

2 p.m.

University of North Florida

East Tennessee State

Eni Cuka scored 24 points to lead the Ospreys.

2/1/2009 4:55:00 PM | Men's Basketball

ETSU rallies for 67-64 win against Ospreys

By: Shawn LaFata

Box Score

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – After rallying from a pair of double-digit deficits in the second half of its last two outings, the University of North Florida men's basketball team let one slip away in a 67-64 loss to Atlantic Sun Conference frontrunner East Tennessee State at UNF Arena.

The Ospreys (5-17, 3-9 A-Sun) held a 14-point advantage in the opening half of play and a 10-point lead at the half but couldn't keep it after being outscored 44-31 in the second half of play.

The UNF defense held ETSU (16-6, 10-2 A-Sun) to less than 40 percent shooting in the first half but couldn't slow a Buccaneer offense that shot 63 percent from the field in the second half of play.

"In the second half our interior defense was not as strong," UNF head coach Matt Kilcullen said. "Give them a lot of credit, they showed why they are the first place team in the Atlantic Sun. I thought we put forth a tremendous effort today and showed how much we have improved since playing them a month ago."

The Bucs scored 36 of their 67 points in the paint with 26 of those coming in the second half.

UNF's Eni Cuka and ETSU's Mike Smith matched each other with a game-high 24 points. Cuka hit four shots beyond the 3-point arc for the Ospreys, while Smith was 9-of-11 from the field and pulled down a game-high 14 rebounds.

UNF started the game off hot from the field, taking an 8-2 advantage thanks to a pair of 3-pointers by Cuka and a Germaine Sparkes jumper. Cuka scored eight of the Ospreys first 10 points then hit another long-range shot to make it a 19-13 game before Sparkes tipped in a Cortez Riley miss and Zack Riggins grabbed an offensive rebound and laid it in to give the Ospreys a 23-13 advantage.

The Ospreys eventually pushed that lead to 29-15 before an 8-4 run by the Buccaneers cut the lead to 33-23 at the break.

Cuka led all players at halftime with 17 points, hitting all four of his free throws and 5-of-11 shots from the field. Sparkes followed him with six points while Smith and Kevin Tiggs each had eight points to lead the Buccaneers.

UNF was 8-of-8 from the free throw line in the first half and 3-for-14 behind the 3-point arc. ETSU was 0-for-3 from long range. The Ospreys also managed to take care of the basketball, turning it over only six times and creating 10 steals of their own.

The Ospreys lost that ball control early in the second half, turning the ball over five times in the first five minutes to allow ETSU to cut the Osprey advantage to four at 40-36.

ETSU finally grabbed its first lead of the game on a Tiggs offensive rebound that he put back in the basket for a 50-49 Buccaneer lead. Riggins briefly gave the Ospreys the lead back at 51-50 before ETSU eventually took a seven-point advantage.

Cuka and Stan Januska tried to rally their teams with a pair of 3-pointers in the final minute of play but it wasn't enough to allow UNF to capture its first victory against the Buccaneers.

Both teams turned the ball over 18 times with UNF stealing it away from the Bucs 14 times on the day compared to five ETSU steals. The Bucs won the rebounding battle 35-34.

UNF is back in action on Saturday night when it heads to Kennesaw State for a rematch with the Owls at 7:30 p.m.