Smith Nets 46 in UNF Home Finale Victory

Monday, February 20

Jacksonville, Fla.

7 pm

University of North Florida

15-15, 9-8ASun

Mercer

20-9, 12-4ASun

Mercer

North Florida

2/20/2012 9:30:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

Boxscore (pdf)
Game Book
Postgame Interview (Parker Smith)
Game Recap (NBC Sports.com)

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Parker Smith blistered the nets of UNF Arena for a school-record 46 points including 11 three-pointers as the North Florida basketball team closed its home schedule with a 75-66 victory Monday night over Mercer.

Smith, who struggled to a 1-for-11 shooting performance from long range on Saturday against Kennesaw State, bounced back Monday hitting 11 of his 17 trey attempts including an 8-for-11 clip in the second half. Smith accounted for 61 percent of UNF's scoring in the game.

The Ospreys (15-15, 9-8 ASun) earned their fourth consecutive and 11th home victory of the season, while Mercer (20-9, 12-4) lost for the second straight time after posting a nine-game win streak. The 15 wins matches the UNF single season record for victories.

In addition to Smith's record-breaking performance, UNF got eight points from Travis Wallace and five points from seniors Matt Sauey and Jimmy Williams, playing in their final career home games. Junior Jerron Granberry also scored five and moved within seven points of 1,000 for his career. David Jeune pulled down a season-best eight rebounds and Williams handed out six assists.

Langston Hall finished with 17 points pacing a quartet of Bears in double figures.

“Obviously it was a big night for Parker,” said UNF head coach Matthew Driscoll. “We see him make shots like this in practice all the time and it was great for him to step up and make those shots tonight. I thought our guys did a terrific job of getting him the ball in places to score. We did a tremendous job of guarding them on the defensive end and got big plays from a variety of players. I thought our guys really competed hard and played with a purpose.”

Mercer grabbed the early momentum after opening the game on a 15-5 run. The Ospreys began slowly chipping away at the deficit earning their first lead, 26-24, on a Smith trey with 3:57 remaining in the half. The Ospreys closed the first period with a 25-9 surge including scoring the final eight points. UNF led 36-27 at the break behind 18 points from Smith.

Smith drilled back-to-back treys to start the second half as the Ospreys built a double-digit advantage. Mercer refused to go away quietly pulling with five points on several occasions. A trio of Smith triples put UNF in front, 57-45, with 7:27 left to play.

The Bears roared back behind a 10-2 spurt pulling within four, 59-55, over the next two minutes. Smith answered with three 3-pointers in the next 2:46 as North Florida built its lead to 70-57 with 2:30 remaining.

Mercer could get no closer than seven the rest of the way as UNF secured the victory moving into fourth place in the Atlantic Sun standings.

Smith's 46 points were not only a UNF game record but also matched the Atlantic Sun mark for a conference game. His 11 trifectas set a new Osprey record and equaled the single game ASun record. Smith became the first ASun player to score 40+ points in a game since Mercer's James Florence had 40 on Nov. 27, 2009. According to the Associated Press, Smith's 46 point outing is the second most in an NCAA Division I game this season behind a 50 points by Tennessee Tech's Kevin Murphy.

North Florida closes its regular season slate Friday against crosstown rival Jacksonville at the JVM Arena at 7 p.m. The game will be televised live on CSS. The General Shale Atlantic Sun Conference Basketball Tournament begins play Feb. 29 in Macon, Ga.