Haugabrook Lay-up With One Second Left Lifts UNF Past Lipscomb, 72-70

Friday, February 5

Nashville, Tenn.

8 p.m.

University of North Florida

-1112, 67 ASun

Lipscomb

-1211, 95 ASun

North Florida

Lipscomb

Haugabrook notches game-winner with one second left

Haugabrook Lay-up With One Second Left Lifts UNF Past Lipscomb, 72-70

2/6/2010 1:39:01 AM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

Eni Cuka leads the Ospreys with 23 points

Box Score

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – After squandering a 16-point second half lead and the game tied at 70, junior guard Brad Haugabrook hit a driving lay-up with one second remaining to give North Florida a 72-70 road win over Lipscomb on Friday, Feb. 5, at Allen Arena.

The Ospreys led 59-43 with 9:58 remaining before the Bison went on a 15-0 run to cut the lead to 59-58 with 5:34 left. UNF pushed the lead back to nine at 70-61 with 2:13 to play before LU made another run cutting it 70-69 with 50 seconds to play.

UNF had the ball but Haugabrook missed a layup with 26 seconds left and the Bison had a chance to take the lead with a basket. Lipscomb's Adnan Hodzic was fouled with 11 seconds remaining but hit just one of two free throws to tie the game at 70, setting the stage for Haugabrook's heroics.

North Florida was without the services of starting senior guard and second leading scorer Stan Januska. Januska, who will also miss the Belmont game, is being evaluated daily after suffering a bruised lung and ribs from a hard fall during the Jacksonville game on Jan. 29.

With the win UNF improves to 11-12 overall and 6-7 in A-Sun play, while Lipscomb falls to 12-11 and 9-5 in league play. After Belmont defeated Jacksonville tonight, a win by LU would have moved them into a tie for first in the conference with JU.

“We fought and battled from start to finish,” said UNF head coach Matthew Driscoll. “This is how many of our games have been because we hang our hat on defense. You could go down the list and talk about each player and how they contributed to the win. Again that is how we win. I'm really proud of Eni for stepping up and accepting the challenge of his first start of the season.”

Senior guard Eni Cuka, who started in place of the injured Januska, led the Ospreys with 23 points in his first start of the season. He was the first Osprey player to score 20-or-more points in a game this season. It was Cuka's seventh game of his career with 20-or-more points.

Freshman guard Jerron Granberry added 12 points for UNF and senior guard Germaine Sparkes chipped in 11. Sophomore forward Matthew Sauey led the Ospreys with seven rebounds and four blocked shots, while Haugabrook led the team with four assists.

The Ospreys out-scored LU 28-24 in the paint and 18-10 in bench points. North Florida shot 50 percent from the field, 41.2 percent from behind the arc and 73.3 percent from the free throw line. The Bison shot 44.4 percent from the field, 33.3 percent from 3-point range and 51.7 percent from the line.

Hodzic led Lipscomb with 23 points and 13 rebounds, and Jordan Burgason added 22 points.

The Ospreys, more specifically Cuka, started out the game on fire. He scored nine of the first 11 points for UNF as it raced out to an 11-4 lead. Lipscomb battled back to take a 14-13 lead and stretched the lead to 20-17 with 8:25 left in the half but it was the last lead LU would have in the game. North Florida then went on a 17-4 run to take a 10-point lead at 34-24 with 1:10 before the break. The Bison ended the half on a 5-0 run as UNF led 34-29 at halftime.

The Ospreys will remain in Nashville to take on Belmont on Sunday, Feb. 7, at 3 p.m. ET. The game can be heard on AM 1320 WBOB and 103.7 FM in Jacksonville or on-line at 1320WBOB.com. It can also be seen on www.ASun.TV. Belmont is 14-10 overall and 9-5 in league action, currently third in the A-Sun.

After Belmont, North Florida returns home to take on Stetson on Thursday, Feb. 11, at 7:45 p.m. and then Florida Gulf Coast on Saturday, Feb. 13, at 7 p.m. Both games are at UNF Arena and the second games of double-headers with the Osprey women.

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.