University of North Florida
4-7
Furman
7-2
Second Half Scoring Slump Hurts Ospreys
12/18/2010 9:34:45 PM | Men's Basketball
Final Boxscore
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- A second half scoring slump proved costly for the University of North Florida men's basketball team in a 60-48 loss to Furman Saturday night at UNF Arena.
UNF (4-7), who has now dropped four straight, was outscored 37-22 in the second half by the Paladins points in the first half.
Despite fouling out, Andy Diaz scored 14 points to lead the Ospreys who also got 10 points from Parker Smith. Brian Holmes pulled down a career best seven rebounds to lead UNF on the glass.
Jordan Miller paced the Paladins with 19 points making four three-pointers on the night. Brandon Bebirumbi added 16 including 12 points in the decisive second half.
“Give Furman a lot of credit for playing confidently throughout the game,” said UNF head coach Matthew Driscoll. “They are a veteran team and played like it tonight especially down the stretch. I thought the big difference was the fact that they made some big shots in the second half and we missed some shots that we have to make. I thought we gave ourselves a chance and had some good looks on offense but just didn't make the shots. We just have to keep working and improving.”
After an early back-and-forth battle, UNF grabbed the early lead behind an 11-2 run midway through the first half. A free throw by Jerron Granberry with 7:03 left in the opening period gave UNF a 19-9 advantage.
The Paladins fought their way back into the game over the next four minutes using a 9-0 surge to trim their deficit to one. Furman eventually knotted the score at 21 with 3:44 left, but the Ospreys scored six of the final eight points in the period to hold a slight halftime edge.
Furman quickly erased the North Florida advantage in the second half forcing a 29-29 tie just over two minutes into the action. The Ospreys would maintain a small lead for the next seven minutes before watching the Paladins race past on the strength of a 20-3 run and a nine minute drought from the floor by UNF.
During the Furman rally, North Florida missed four shots and committed seven turnovers. The Ospreys lone points included free throws by Diaz and Brad Haugabrook. Granberry drilled a trey with 2:32 left in the game making the score 52-46 and ending the UNF slump.
The Paladins would make their free throws down the stretch to secure the win.
North Florida will take 11 days off from competition before returning to action Dec. 29 at Maryland. The game tips off a five-game road stretch for the Ospreys, who won't play at home again until Jan. 13 against ETSU.
