University of North Florida
0-1
Florida State
1-0
UNF Rally Falls Short at Florida State
11/12/2010 11:24:55 PM | Men's Basketball
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TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- The University of North Florida men's basketball team used a strong second half rally to get within five points before falling 75-55 at Florida State in the season opening game for the Ospreys.
UNF (0-1) got a team-high 16 points from Parker Smith in his first game for the Ospreys, while Andy Diaz added 12 and freshman Brian Holmes chipped in 10 points in his collegiate debut. Bernard James paced the Seminoles (1-0) with a 15 point, 10 rebound double-double performance.
After trading early baskets, Florida State pushed in front 9-2 through the opening five minutes of the contest. Smith connected on three consecutive free throws trimming the UNF deficit to just four, but the Seminoles answered with a 14-2 surge to seize the momentum and a 23-7 advantage.
The Ospreys battled over the next seven minutes of competition cutting a 17-point margin to 12 points several times before the Noles capitalized on a trio of UNF turnovers in the closing minute for a 42-25 lead at the half.
Seven of the 10 North Florida players who saw action in the first half scored led by Smith's six points and five from Holmes. Xavier Gibson, Deividas Dulkys and James each tallied seven points to pace FSU in the opening period. The Seminoles benefitted from 15 first half turnovers by UNF turning them into 14 points.
Florida State upped its lead to 19 points (50-31) early in the second half before UNF began chipping away at the margin. The Osprey defense held FSU scoreless for over five minutes while trimming the deficit to single digits 50-45 with 10:46 remaining. UNF used a 14-0 run sparked by 10 straight points from Smith and capped by layups from Charles McRoy and Diaz.
Luke Loucks ended the drought for the Noles with a three-pointer and Chris Singleton followed with a dunk to put Florida State back in front by double figures. From there, FSU used a 16-5 surge to takeover the game en route to the final margin.
“I was very proud of the effort our guys showed in cutting the deficit in the second half,” said UNF head coach Matthew Driscoll. “We battled Florida State but I thought we failed to answer the challenge when they raised their level of play in answer to our rally. I was disappointed in the turnovers we had in the first half that really put us in a hole. I feel like the first 10 minutes of the second half really showed the type of team we can be though.”
For the game, UNF was only outrebounded 41-36 by a much bigger and taller FSU squad. The Ospreys finished with 22 turnovers but also forced 15 by the Seminoles. North Florida shot just 34 percent from the floor for the game while Florida State connected at a 43 percent clip.
A quick turnaround awaits the Ospreys as UNF travels to Pittsburgh for a game Saturday at 4 p.m. versus the No.4-ranked Pitt Panthers. The team took charter jets from Tallahassee to Pittsburgh following Friday night's game.
Saturday's game is being televised live regionally on FSN-Pittsburgh.
