Ospreys Drop Trip Opener at Colorado State

Monday, December 17

Ft. Collins, Colo.

7 pm (MT)

University of North Florida

3-7

Colorado State

7-2

North Florida

Colorado State

Photo by: Todd Drexler

12/17/2012 11:07:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

Boxscore (pdf)
Game Book

FORT COLLINS, Colo. -- The North Florida basketball team opened their four game road trip with a tough 83-55 loss Monday night at Colorado State.

The Opsreys (3-7) dropped their third consecutive game despite an impressive opening 10 minutes of play that saw UNF build a near double-digit lead over the Rams (7-2). CSU closed the first half on a 20-8 surge then outscored North Florida, 44-23, in the final 20 minutes to earn their 18th straight home victory.

UNF saw eight players get in the scoring column led by 12 from Travis Wallace and 10 for Parker Smith. For Wallace it marked his seventh consecutive double figure outing.

The Rams placed four players in double digits including a game high 15 points from Greg Smith. CSU shot 51 percent from the floor for the night and also made 7 of 11 three-point attempts (64 percent). Colorado State, who leads the nation in rebounding margin, finished the night with a 41-23 advantage on the glass led by three players grabbing seven rebounds each.

"This game had a similar look to our game at Pitt," said UNF head coach Matthew Driscoll. "We got out to a great start on both ends but weren't able to sustain it. Another opponent raised their level of play and we just didn't respond for some reason that I don't understand. We have played great in parts of games but we have to find a way to put a full 40 minutes together. We will get back to work tomorrow and continue to battle."

The Ospreys opened the game with an 8-1 surge led by five points from Smith and built a 19-12 lead midway through the half. Colorado State would score seven straight to knot the score at 19 before UNF answered with the next five points. From their the Rams would use a 12-3 spurt to claim their first lead of the contest with just over five minutes to play in the period.

Colorado State carried a 39-32 lead into the halftime break.

A 19-5 run at the start of the second half pushed the momentum in CSU's favor as the Rams kept the Ospreys at bay for the remainder of the game.

For the game, UNF shot 42 percent from the floor and connected on seven three-pointers. Freshmen Beau Beech, Ray Rodriguez and BaeBae Daniels each hit a pair of treys while CSU forced Smith, one of the nation's top shooters from long distance, to just a 1-for-7 performance. Freshman Cameron Naylor pulled down five rebounds to pace the Ospreys while Wallace and Will Wilson each dished out three assists.

North Florida continues its nine-day road trip with a return to the hardwood on Wednesday night at the University of Portland.