Ospreys Drown Dolphins 80-58 in A-Sun Opener

Saturday, December 3

Jacksonville, Fla.

12 pm

University of North Florida

5-4, 1-0ASun

Jacksonville

2-5, 0-1ASun

Jacksonville

North Florida

12/3/2011 2:22:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

Final Boxscore (PDF)
Game Book
Postgame Interview (Matt Sauey)

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- North Florida never trailed and led by 20 or more much of the second half in a decisive 80-58 victory Saturday afternoon over crosstown rival Jacksonville at UNF Arena.

Andy Diaz finished with 18 points and nine rebounds to lead the Ospreys (5-4, 1-0 Atlantic Sun) to their fourth straight win. The win extended UNF's home win streak to six games including a 5-0 mark this season. It was also the second straight victory for North Florida in their series with Jacksonville (2-5, 0-1).

"The guys did a great job of executing our game plan on both ends of the floor today," said UNF head coach Matthew Driscoll. "We are blessed this season with a lot of depth and real quality players. It seems like every game this season we've had a different guy step up and make big plays. Today it was Charles and Andy early and then we got contributions from everybody on the floor. We played with great poise."

Sophomore Charles McRoy sparked a quick start scoring the first five points of the game with a three-pointer and a fastbreak dunk. After JU knotted the score at 9-9, UNF scored nine straight capped by another McRoy trey to build an 18-9 lead with 10:36 left in the opening half.

McRoy, who finished the game with 15 points going 3-for-4 from beyond the arc, entered Saturday's contest having made just one of his 13 trifecta attempts on the year (7 percent).

UNF led by as many as 10 points in the opening stanza and carried a 40-32 advantage into the halftime break after scoring the last four points of the half. It marked the Ospreys highest first half point production and second best half scoring output this season.

North Florida blitzed out of the gates in the second half scoring the first 11 points to build a 51-32 lead just two minutes into the action. A pair of Jerron Granberry three-pointers and a dunk for Diaz highlighted the surge.

Will Wilson, who tallied a season-best seven assists with just one turnover, drilled his first three-pointer of the season minutes later giving the Ospreys their first 20-point margin. The Ospreys dominated play the rest of the way maintaining at least a 20-point edge and leading by as much as 26, 71-45, with six minutes left on the clock.

All 10 players on the UNF roster got in the scoring column with Parker Smith scoring 11 to join Diaz and McRoy in double digits. JU had four players in double figures led by 16 for Delwan Graham, but got just two points from one of their other six players.

For the game, UNF shot 59 percent from the floor including a blistering 8-for-13 (61 percent) from the three-point line. The Ospreys also shot a season-best 73 percent from the free throw line making 16 of 22 attempts.

The Ospreys earned a 37-34 advantage in rebounding, overcoming 18 offensive boards by the Dolphins. JU also turned 16 UNF turnovers into 17 points on the day.

North Florida will have the week off from competition as the University holds its fall semester exams. UNF returns to the hardwood Dec. 11 at Kansas State.