University of North Florida
12-15, 7-10ASun
Mercer
14-13, 10-7ASun
North Florida Falls 77-67 At Mercer, But Clinches A-Sun Tournament Berth
2/18/2010 10:44:39 PM | Men's Basketball
Ospreys face Kennesaw State Saturday night
MACON
Despite the loss, UNF (12-15 overall, 7-10 A-Sun) clinched its first appearance in the General Shale Brick Atlantic Sun Championships, March 3-6, in
The Ospreys, who are tied for seventh in the conference, secured a spot in the eight-team A-Sun tournament after
The winner of A-Sun Championship earns the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Division I Tournament. This is the first year that UNF is eligible for the Atlantic Sun Conference tournament after finishing its four-year reclassification period last year.
“We are extremely proud that our collective efforts have provided us another opportunity to compete for a championship,” said UNF head coach Matthew Driscoll. “We allowed that to occur once before this season and won the South Mississippi Christmas Classic, beating some higher level teams. We have said all along that you can't have a chance to make the NCAA Tournament if you don't get in the conference tournament. But this in no means takes away from our three remaining games that will allow us to advance higher up the standings.”
North Florida will remain in the state of Georgia to take on take on the team it is tied for seventh in the standings with, Kennesaw State, on Saturday, Feb. 20, at 7:30 p.m.
The game can be heard on AM 1320 WBOB and 103.7 FM in
The Owls are 12-16 overall and 7-10 in league play after losing 75-67 to
Sophomore forward Matt Sauey returned to action after missing the
The first half was close throughout with UNF owning the largest lead of the half at 23-16.
The Ospreys led 39-36 at the 17:34 mark of the second half before Mercer seized control with a 10-0 run to go up 46-39 with 15 minutes to play. UNF would regroup and cut the Mercer lead to 56-53 on an Eni Cuka 3-pointer with 9:49 remaining. That was as close as
Cuka led UNF with 21 points, going 6-11 from the field, including 5-7 from 3-point range. Sauey chipped in 12 points and a team-high six rebounds, and senior guard Germaine Sparkes added 11 points. Junior guard Brad Haugabrook posted a game-high seven assists.
Mercer got a huge game from Daniel Emerson who had 20 points and 18 rebounds.
“We never got into a defensive game where we knew we were going to get consecutive stops like we have done in the past,” said Driscoll. “They rallied and found a way to win without one of their best players. We need to find a way to get better tomorrow and compete vs.
After Kennesaw, UNF returns home for its final two regular season games of the season, facing East
Single-game tickets for basketball games are $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 for those events are $5 and limited to one per student.
