Ospreys Game Winner Just Misses vs ETSU

Monday, January 16

Jacksonville, Fla.

7 pm

University of North Florida

9-11, 3-4ASun

ETSU

10-07, 5-2ASun

ETSU

North Florida

Photo by: Todd Drexler

1/16/2012 10:28:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

Boxscore (PDF)
Game Book

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Travis Wallace's jumper at the buzzer fell short as the North Florida basketball team dropped a tough 64-63 loss Monday night to East Tennessee State at UNF Arena.

The Ospreys (9-11, 3-4 Atlantic Sun) held a lead at the half but were unable to hold off a late charge by the Buccaneers (10-7, 5-2). The loss was the third in a row for UNF, who now hits the road for four straight games while ETSU picked up their fifth consecutive A-Sun victory after opening the year 0-2.

Jerron Granberry led a quartet of UNF players in double digits finishing with 14 points followed by 12 from Parker Smith and 11 each for Andy Diaz and Travis Wallace. Wallace also pulled down a career-best 12 boards in recording his first career double-double.

Adam Sollazzo finished with a game high 21 points, including 19 in the second half, to lead the Bucs rally. ETSU got all of its point from its starters as only seven players saw time in the game.

“I thought we had a great chance at the end, the shot just didn't fall for us,” said UNF head coach Matthew Driscoll. “I was proud of our fight tonight and thought we got off to a great start. We just faced a good team that had some players make key plays. Our guys never quit and we gave ourselves an opportunity at the end. We just have to get back to practice and figure some stuff out as we head into this road trip.”

After going back-and-forth over the first five minutes of play, UNF grabbed the momentum with a 16-2 run to take a 25-12 lead with 5:55 left in the first half. During the nine-minute surge, the Ospreys held the Bucs to just 1-of-11 shooting and also got three straight treys from Granberry.

A Smith trifecta at the 4:21 mark gave the Ospreys their largest lead of the game, 30-15. ETSU used a six-point spurt to trim the deficit and trailed 34-23 at the half as neither team could muster a point in the closing minute and a half of play.

UNF maintained a near double-digit advantage early in the second half before ETSU slowly began to chip away at the lead. With the Ospreys in front, 50-42, and 8:45 remaining to play, the Bucs scored 13 straight points in a three-minute span to take a lead they would never relinquish.

Granberry converted a pair of free throws and added a three-pointer to close the gap to two and then Smith answered a Sollazzo bucket with a three of his own to make the score 59-58 with 3:12 left. Matt Sauey drilled just his second trey of the season at the 1:05 mark to tie the score at 61 and set up the frantic finish.

Isiah Brown, who tallied 15 points for ETSU, put the Bucs back in front with a pair of free throws but Jimmy Williams answered with two for UNF evening the score again with 33 seconds left. Sollazzo drew a foul and made one of two free throws giving the Ospreys a chance at the buzzer.

Following a timeout, Sauey threw a full court pass that Wallace caught over the defenders just to the left of the lane. He turned and shot the ball as time expired but his bank shot attempt caromed off the rim allowing the Bucs to escape with the win.

North Florida opens a four-game road swing Saturday at Mercer at 4:30 p.m. The game will be carried on ESPN3.