Ospreys Win For Seventh Time In Eight Games, Down Stetson 54-44

Sunday, January 10

DeLand, Fla.

2 p.m.

University of North Florida

-88 (33 ASUN)

Stetson

-311 (15 ASUN)

North Florida

Stetson

Ospreys Win For Seventh Time In Eight Games, Down Stetson 54-44

1/10/2010 5:13:51 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

Haugabrook drops 16 and Granberry 15 in victory

Box Score

DeLAND, Fla. – Junior guard Brad Haugabrook tallied 16 points and freshman forward Jerron Granberry added 15 to lead North Florida past Stetson in a grind-it-out Atlantic Sun Conference battle on Sunday, Jan. 10, at the Edmunds Center.

With the win, the Ospreys improved to 8-8 on the year and have now won seven of their last eight games after starting the season 1-7. The victory also moved UNF to 3-3 in Atlantic Sun play, while Stetson fell to 3-11 and 1-5 in league play.

It is the first time since UNF moved to Division I in the 2005-06 season (four-plus years) that the Ospreys have won two A-Sun games on the road in a season. Entering this season North Florida was 1-36 in conference road games and the win today moved UNF to 2-2 in A-Sun road games this year.

The Ospreys have played 12 of their first 16 games on the road but will now return home to UNF Arena to take on Belmont on Thursday, Jan. 14, at 7:45 p.m. and Lipscomb on Saturday, Jan. 16, 7 p.m. Both games are double-headers with the UNF women's team.

Both games can be heard on AM 1320 WBOB and 103.7 FM in Jacksonville or on-line at 1320WBOB.com. They can also be seen on www.ASun.TV.

The whole game was a defensive affair with both teams playing tough man-to-man defense the majority of the time. The score was tight throughout the first stanza before Stetson grabbed a six point lead, 20-14, at the 4:12 mark. But the Ospreys ended the half on an 8-0 run to take a 22-20 lead into the break. North Florida shot just 35 percent in the first half, while Stetson shot 42 percent. UNF did force 14 turnovers. Granberry led North Florida with eight points in the first half.

After Stetson tied the game at 24-24 early in the second half, the Ospreys went on a 12-3 run to take an 11 point lead at 38-27 with 13:06 remaining. The lead was still 10 at 46-36 with 7:55 left before the Hatters began to chip away at the UNF lead, closing to within four (46-42) with only 2:36 remaining.

But senior guard Germaine Sparkes was fouled on the next North Florida possession and sank two free throws to make it 48-42 with 2:22 left. Stetson had some chances to cut the deficit back to four but had a turnover, a foul and two missed shots before UNF scored again to push the lead to eight with 1:27 to go and secure the win.

Haugabrook and Granberry were the only players in double figure scoring for UNF. Granberry also grabbed a team-high five rebounds, Haugabrook a team-high three assists and sophomore Matt Sauey a game-high three blocks.

North Florida shot 45.0 percent (18-40) from the field for the game, while Stetson shot 35.4 percent (17-48). The Ospreys shot 22.2 percent (2-9) from behind the arc and 61.5 percent (16-26) from the free throw line. The Hatters shot 18.2 percent (2-11) from 3-point range and 57.1 percent (8-14) from the line. Ridge Graham led Stetson with 15 points and 14 rebounds.

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.