#MBB Slips at Middle Tennessee, 77-70

Wednesday, November 13

Murfreesboro, Tenn.

7 pm (CT)

University of North Florida

1-2

Middle Tennessee

2-0

North Florida

Middle Tennessee

Photo by: Bill Pearce - wlpearce.com

11/13/2013 10:17:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

By: North Florida Athletics

Final Boxscore (pdf)
Game Book

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. -- Middle Tennesee used a blistering second half shooting performance to outlast the North Florida basketball team in a 77-70 loss for the Ospreys on Wednesday night at the Murphy Center.

The Ospreys (1-2) led by four at the half but were unable to overcome the Blue Raiders (2-0) 61.5 percent shooting in the final half. UNF trimmed the deficit to three with 40 seconds left.

Freshman Chris Davenport posted his first career double-double finishing with 10 points and 11 rebounds while senior Travis Wallace led all scorers with 18 points on the night. Jalen Nesbitt also chipped in 10 points for the Ospreys.

Marcus Tarrance and Jaqawn Raymond both finished with 14 points for the Blue Raiders, while Reggie Upshaw netted a 12 point, 10 rebound double-double.

"This one was one we are disappointed to let slip away," said UNF head coach Matthew Driscoll. "I was proud of our resiliency and just feel like we need to continue to grow and get better. We played well to get a lead but I feel like our poor shot selections during some stretches allowed them to make runs to stay in the game and then get the lead. Coming out of the half, we got into trading baskets when we needed to be more determined on getting stops. We have to move forward and get ready for a really good opponent in our home opener on Saturday night."

After Middle Tennessee scored the game's first bucket, North Florida answered with the next five points and held a lead for the remainder of the half. A 12-3 spurt midway through the period allowed the Ospreys to build their largest lead of the game, 27-15, with 6:44 left in the half.

The Blue Raiders rallied on the strength of a 10-4 surge trimming the UNF advantage to four with just under three minutes on the clock. A Beau Beech three-pointer and a free throw by Nesbitt would close out the Osprey scoring allowing UNF to carry a 35-31 lead into the halftime break.

The two squads went back-and-forth over the first few minutes of the second half before an 8-0 spurt from MT saw the Blue Raiders take their first lead since the opening possession. Wallace answered for UNF to regain the lead but another charge from Middle Tennessee allowed them to grab a lead they would not relinquish.

MT would extend their advantage to as many as 12 points, 72-60, before the Ospreys battled back using a 10-1 run to pull within three points, 73-70, with 40 seconds left to play. UNF had a couple chances to even the score before Middle made a few late free throws to salvage the win.

North Florida now returns to Jacksonville for a three-game homestand beginning Saturday against Southern University at 7 p.m. in UNF Arena.