Don't Call it a Comeback: Opsreys Rally for Overtime Win at FGCU

Saturday, January 7

Fort Myers, Fla.

5:15 pm

University of North Florida

-98, 31 ASUN

Florida Gulf Coast

-69, 23 ASUN

Team	1	2	OT 1	F
North Florida	28	49	11	88
Florida Gulf Coast	45	32	4	81

Photo by: Sideline Sports/UNF Athletics

Don't Call it a Comeback: Opsreys Rally for Overtime Win at FGCU

1/7/2012 7:52:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

Boxscore (PDF)
Play-by-Play

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- The North Florida basketball team outscored Florida Gulf Coast 60-36 in the final 25 minutes of play and rallied from a 17-point halftime deficit to earn an 88-81 overtime victory Saturday at Alico Arena.

The Ospreys (9-7, 3-1 Atlantic Sun) topped 80 points for the fourth time in the last five games and shut down a hot-shooting Eagles (6-9, 2-3) squad down the stretch to complete the comeback. UNF trailed by as many as 21 points in the opening half and FGCU led 45-28 at halftime.

Parker Smith scored 23 points, including 17 in the second half, and Jerron Granberry finished with a season-best 21 to lead the charge for the Ospreys. Andy Diaz chipped in 16 points and had eight rebounds while Travis Wallace added 13 points.

Brett Comer had 19 points to pace the Eagle attack that shot 53.8 percent (7-13) from the 3-point line in the opening half before going just 1-for-12 the rest of the game.

“All year long our guys have played with resilience and confidence against everybody,” said UNF head coach Matthew Driscoll. “Our guys always feel like they can win a game no matter the challenges. While I don't like falling behind by 20, I was very proud of the effort and determination that our entire team played with especially in the second half and overtime. We got contributions from everybody and that's the only way we accomplished this feat. I really thought Jerron stepped up as a leader on the court and in the huddle tonight.”

After scoring the first basket, UNF would not see the lead again until the three minute mark of the second half. FGCU answered the Ospreys opening bucket with 11 straight points as Chase Fieler converted a pair of threes to spark the surge.

The Eagles extended their lead to double-digits just six minutes into the action before both teams struggled through a three-minute scoring drought. UNF turned things up defensively for two more minutes holding FGCU scoreless as the Ospreys trimmed the deficit to six points, 22-16.

UNF's deficit hovered between six and 10 points for several minutes until the Eagles tallied 12 straight points in a three-minute span to grab control of the momentum. The spurt put FGCU in front by 21 points, 44-23, with 2:04 left to play.

Coming out of the break, North Florida began chipping away at the margin outscoring the Eagles 14-4 through the first five minutes. UNF pulled within six points twice before making a final decisive surge. Trailing 72-64 at the 5:25 mark, the Ospreys scored eight of the next nine points capped by a trey from Smith with 3:02 left to take a 74-43 win.

The Eagles regained the lead moments later but Granberry answered with a triple to put Ospreys up by two. Comer converted a layup with 32 seconds left to knot the score but missed a FT that could have given the lead back to FGCU. Both teams had a possession in the closing moments but were unable to score the deciding basket.

The Ospreys scored the first six points of the extra session en route to outscoring FGCU, 11-4, to earn the win. Diaz scored four points, with Granberry and Smith adding three each for UNF.

North Florida concludes its brief road swing Monday at 4:15 p.m. against Stetson.