JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The North Florida men's basketball team fell 57-49 to Campbell on Saturday, Feb. 27, at UNF Arena in the final regular season game of the year.
The Ospreys, the No. 7 seed in the in the upcoming General Shale Brick Atlantic Sun Championships, March 3-6, in Macon, Ga., will face crosstown rival and No. 2 seed Jacksonville University on Wednesday, March 3, at 9 p.m. at the University Center in Macon. UNF lost both meetings with the Dolphins this season, 62-56 at JU on Jan. 18, and 73-61 at UNF Arena on Jan. 29.
Wednesday's game can be heard on heard on AM 1320 WBOB and 103.7 FM in Jacksonville or on-line at 1320WBOB.com. The game can also be seen on www.ASun.TV free of charge.
If UNF wins on Wednesday, March 3, they will face the winner of the Belmont vs. Mercer game on Friday, March 5, at 9 p.m. at the University Center. The championship game is on Saturday, March 6, at 6 p.m. and is televised on ESPN.
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.
North Florida ended the regular season at 13-17 overall and 8-12 in Atlantic Sun Conference play. Campbell improved to 19-10 and 14-6 in conference action, tied for first place. JU, Lipscomb and Belmont all finished tied for first with the Camels, with Lipscomb earning the No. 1 seed, JU No. 2, Belmont No. 3 and Campbell No. 4.
The first half saw UNF fall behind 12-5 at the 15:55 mark of the period before the Osprey offense picked up. North Florida battled back and tied the game at 20 on a Jerron Granberry 3-pointer with 2:45 left before break. The Ospreys took just their second lead of the game with 26 seconds remaining before the half on a David Jeune layup. Granberry led UNF with nine first-half points.
The game was tied at 26 with 17:45 remaining in the game before a 14-0 run put Campbell up 40-26 with 8:28 to play. The Ospreys would chip away at the Camel lead and cut it to six at 47-41 with 2:25 to go. UNF would get it to five (52-47) with 45 seconds remaining but Campbell would hold on for the win.
“It is not the way you want to send the seniors out,” said UNF head coach Matthew Driscoll. “Being 3-7 is not a good record at home. It is very disappointing being better on the road then at home. You can't go 6-42 from the 3-point line in our last two games. We guarded both teams extremely well, ETSU and Campbell. Give Campbell a lot of credit. We had the lead at halftime and fought back from an earlier deficit. They took the lead up 10, we fought and cut it to six with 2:25 to go, and Lorne Merthie made a pull up jumper which was a huge play. We cut it to five and then they got that dunk which was a good play by them to find (Miles) Taylor for that easy play. It's disappointing at home and we need to be better than that. It was a great crowd, the student section was wonderful as it always is, and obviously we need to do a better job next year winning at home. We play on Wednesday at 9 p.m. against JU. We will be prepared, it's a new season. A fresh start with everybody on the same playing turf with the exception of Mercer, but they have the sixth seed. They will be wearing a dark uniform the whole time. We have to make sure that we take care of what we are doing and make sure that our guys are fresh and ready.”
Granberry led UNF with 14 points and sophomore forward Matt Sauey chipped in 13. Freshman forward Andy Diaz pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds and Sauey blocked three shots, giving him the UNF single-season record of 47.
North Florida shot 35.3 percent from the field, 19 percent from behind the arc and 45 percent from the free throw line. The Camels shot 35.1 percent from the field, 22.1 percent from 3-point range and 57.7 percent from the line.
Miles Taylor led Campbell with 15 points and nine rebounds.
Tickets information for the A-Sun Tournament is below:
Tournament Books
$75 (Adults) | $50 (Seniors 62 and older) | $50 (Students age 12-22 years or older with Valid College Student ID) | $20 (Youth 6-11) | Free (Age 5 and younger)
Session Tickets
$15 (Adults) | $10 (Senior 62 and older) | $10 (Age 12-22 with valid college I.D.) | $5 (Ages 6-11) | Free (Age 5 and under)
Tickets can be ordered Online at MercerBears.com or by phone at 478-301-5470. Tickets on sale day of game beginning at 10 a.m. ET and doors open one hour prior to first game of session.
The full tournament bracket can be found by clicking HERE.
