University of North Florida
-98, 43 ASun
Belmont
-98, 43 ASun
Sauey Tip-in at the Buzzer Gives UNF 45-43 Win Over Belmont
1/14/2010 11:26:39 PM | Men's Basketball
Ospreys have now won eight out of their last nine games
Box Score
YouTube Highlights of the final 1:30
Postgame Press Conference
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Sophomore forward Matt Sauey tipped-in a Brad Haugabrook miss at the buzzer to give North Florida a 45-43 victory over Belmont in Atlantic Sun Conference action on Thursday, Jan. 14, at UNF Arena.
The win improved UNF to 9-8 overall and 4-3 in A-Sun play, while Belmont fell to 9-8 and 4-3 in the league.
Trailing 43-41, Haugabrook hit a short jumper to tie the game at 43 with 50 seconds left. After a UNF timeout, Belmont worked the ball around but a tough North Florida defense forced Bruin guard Ian Clark into a contested 3-pointer with 25 seconds left and UNF freshman forward Andy Diaz hauled in the rebound setting up the final sequence.
Ospreys head coach Matthew Driscoll decided against calling a timeout, instead leaving the game in the hands of his junior point guard Haugabrook. North Florida put four players on the baseline while Haugabrook held the ball up top for the final shot.
Haugabrook took his man off the dribble and got deep into the lane but his shot just barely rolled off the right side of the rim where Sauey was waiting for the put-back, giving UNF its first ever win in eight games over perennial A-Sun power Belmont. The hundreds of North Florida students on hand stormed the court to celebrate the win.
North Florida has now won eight out of its last nine games after starting the season 1-7, a feat that has only been accomplished once previously in the past 17 years of the program. UNF won eight of its first nine games to start the 1994-95 season, the program's third year of existence.
Neither team led by more than six the entire game with Belmont owning the largest lead of the game, 34-28, with 11:34 to play. North Florida won despite shooting just 26.7 percent (16-60) from the field and 8.3 percent (1-12) from 3-point range.
The Ospreys did hold the Bruins to 37 percent (17-46) shooting and 20 percent (4-20) from behind the arc. North Florida also forced 19 Belmont turnovers, had nine steals, five blocked shots and grabbed 15 offensive rebounds.
Sauey led UNF with 11 points, pulled down five rebounds, had three blocked shots and two steals. Diaz added nine points and four rebounds, while Haugabrook had a team-high eight rebounds. Clark led Belmont with 17 points.
North Florida only shot 24.2 percent from the field in the first half but the Ospreys trailed just 24-21 at the break. The Bruins shot 43.5 percent from the field in the first half. Senior guard Stan Januska and Sauey each tallied five points in the first half for UNF.
The men will remain home to face Lipscomb on Saturday, Jan. 16, at 7 p.m. at UNF Arena. The game is the second game of a double-header with the UNF women who face Lipscomb at 4:30 p.m.
Saturday's game will be on tape delay at 9 p.m. and heard in its entirety on AM 1320 WBOB and 103.7 FM in Jacksonville or on-line at 1320WBOB.com. The men's and women's game can also be seen live on www.ASun.TV.
“First of all I would like to thank God for allowing us this opportunity once again to be here and to participate,” said Driscoll. “Obviously Belmont is a very talented team. This whole stretch has been against good teams but before the game the only thing we talked about was playing for the front of your jersey. We have never talked about the other opponent, what they have done in the past and those kinds of things, because if you do then you're talking about things that aren't as important as the present.
“Today is the greatest gift you can have and that's what we talk about. We always tell our guys, and I have said this before, that we can win games when we shoot poorly. At halftime we were shooting 25 percent and I told the guys, 'look I know I have said this before but can you guys change a little bit and in the second half make some shots?' And in the second half they made 30 percent instead of 25. So obviously they listened to me and got better, but there is no question that defense wins games and defense gets you championships and these guys have really understood that now I think more and more.
“They obviously made some big plays down the stretch and guys made free throws and there are a number of plays that we made. I mean Will Wilson coming off the bench to replace Brad (Haugabrook) when he cramped up was huge and Kyle Groothuis gave us great minutes off the bench tonight. We told them before the game that this is going to be a physical war and Joe Collins our strength guy has done a great job and we don't have quite the girth right now that other teams in the league do. Especially Belmont, but our guys fought their tails off and I really thought without watching the film that we used our feet well and we really used our quickness to let those guys kind of pull the chair out from under them to get around guys and get some steals. I mean (Andy) Diaz had some pretty good steals and Matt (Sauey) had some pretty good steals. I'm proud of the guys, proud of the fight.
“We were down six with 11:34 to go. I get that question a lot, 'what did you tell the guys?' One thing I have told these guys a long time ago is that you want to have a player-coach team. And that's what we want. We want to have a player-coach team, because if our staff is doing all the coaching then in games like this they do not know what to do. They are always looking over at the bench. You know, and our guys know, what to do and I am proud of them and I am proud of their fight.”
“It's the best I have ever felt in my life,” said Sauey. “I have never experienced anything like that. That was my first game-winning shot in my career and even in high school I have never had the court stormed like that. And that's what I have dreamed about, everybody storming the court after a big win. I'm loving it right now.”
Single-game tickets for basketball games are $10 for adults and $8 for youth 17-and-under and senior citizens 55-and-older. One ticket will admit you to both the 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. games on those days. Children 2-and-under and any current UNF student with a valid Osprey1 Card are admitted free. Student guest passes for those events are $5 and limited to one per student. If you are unable to attend the games they can be seen on ASun.tv.
