University of North Florida
-612, 34 ASun
USC Upstate
-215, 16 ASun
Men's Basketball Outlasts Upstate, 65-59
1/15/2011 9:52:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Final Box
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- The University of North Florida men's basketball made 7 of 8 free throws in the closing minutes and got a game-saving blocked shot by Matt Sauey in fending off the USC Upstate Spartans for a 65-59 victory Saturday night at UNF Arena.
UNF (6-12, 3-4 A-Sun) snapped a three game skid while extending Upstate's (2-15, 1-6) losing streak to nine games overall and 10 in a row on the road.
Four players scored in double digits for the Ospreys led by 16 from Parker Smith. Sauey chipped in 12 points along four blocked shots while Jerron Granberry scored 11 followed by Jimmy Williams with 10. Andy Diaz grabbed eight rebounds and collected four steals in the victory.
Torrey Craig had 20 points and nine rebounds to pace the Spartans.
“I was extremely proud of how our guys responded after a couple of really tough losses,” said UNF head coach Matthew Driscoll, after watching wins slip away from his team in the final minute in the last two outings. “This was a total team effort and I loved the focus and determination that the guys played with. We got great contributions from our bench tonight and when we play defense like we did in this game we are a pretty good team.”
After trading the lead several times through the opening minutes of play, UNF gained some momentum midway through the half using a 9-2 run to build a 23-14 lead with 8:11 left to play. Granberry drilled a pair of treys in the surge that also included a triple by Will Wilson.
The Ospreys maintained a lead the rest of the period behind solid 54.2 percent shooting including a 7-for-12 performance from the three-point line. A trey at the buzzer by Josh Chavis cut the UNF lead to 34-30 at halftime.
The two squads battled back and forth over the first several minutes of the second half with Upstate eventually earning a tie at 43 with 11:40 remaining. A pair of free throws by Marquis Sloan at the 9:01 mark gave the Spartans their first lead of the half at 47-45 but UNF got a trey from Smith to quickly regain the lead.
From that point the defenses took over the next four minutes of play with neither team able to score a basket from the field. Smith connected on a three-pointer with 5:35 remaining to end the drought and give UNF a 52-49 lead. An Osprey steal resulted in a fast break layup for Smith and a five point advantage but back-to-back jumpers for Upstate trimmed the deficit to one.
North Florida got free throws by David Jeune and Diaz and a basket by Sauey with the shot clock winding down to push the lead to six with 2:16 left. The Spartans refused to go away cutting the margin to just two in the closing minute.
However, Chavis' trey attempt with 17 seconds on the clock was blocked by Sauey into the hands of Williams who then got the ball to Smith who was fouled with nine ticks remaining. Smith hit both free throws making it a two possession contest and then Jeune iced the game with two more with one second left.
UNF next hits the road for a two-game swing through the state of Georgia with games at Kennesaw State (Jan. 20) and Mercer (Jan. 22) before returning home for a four-game home stand.
