#MBB Edge Savannah State, 66-63

Monday, November 18

Jacksonville, Fla.

7:30 pm

University of North Florida

2-3

Savannah State

2-3

Savannah State

North Florida

Photo by: Bill Pearce - wlpearce.com

11/18/2013 10:41:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

By: North Florida Athletics

Boxscore (pdf)
Game Book

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Paced by a career-high 19 points from Beau Beech and strong free throw shooting, the North Florida basketball team snapped a two-game losing skid with a hard fought 66-63 victory over Savannah State, Monday night at UNF Arena.

The Ospreys (2-3) shot 82 percent from the free throw line making 32 of 39 attempts, including a 12-for-13 performance by Beech. The loss halted a two-game win streak for the Tigers (2-3) and kept them winless, 0-8, in their all-time visits to UNF Arena.

Senior Travis Wallace added 12 points and six rebounds for the Ospreys, while Jalen Nesbitt finished with eight points and six rebounds including pulling down a rebound with two seconds left and then making a pair of free throws to secure the victory.

Deven Williams led the SSU attack finishing with 16 points followed by 14 points and nine rebounds from Jyles Smith.

"This was a great team win," said UNF head coach Matthew Driscoll. "I was extremely proud of how the guys rebounded from a tough loss on Saturday night and played with great effort tonight. We still have some things to tighten up on the defensive end. I thought we had some key rebounds and stepped up and shot free throws extremely well. Savannah State is a quality team and this was a good victory."

The first opened as a defensive battle with both teams forcing turnovers and struggling to find an offensive flow. Both squads took turns with the lead, but neither team led by more than three pointsuntil a free throw by Nesbitt pushed the Ospreys in front 21-17, with 5:09 left in the half.

Savannah State closed the opening period with an 8-2 run and held a slim 29-27 advantage at the break.

The Tigers got two quick buckets out of the half building their largest lead, 33-27, just over a minute into play. SSU maintained a slight lead until Beech scored a lay-up sparking a 7-0 spurt that allowed the Ospreys to regain a lead they would not relinquish.

UNF pushed in front by as many as five points on several occassions before Savannah State knotted the score at 61-61 with one minute remaining in the game. Demarcus Daniels dropped in two free throws followed by another from Charles McRoy for a three-point lead.

After a pair of free throws by Savannah State with 22 seconds left trimmed the UNF lead to just one, the Tigers forced a turnover by the Ospreys allowing them a final possession with a chance to win the game. Williams three-point shot rattled out and Nesbitt swooped in to corral the rebound and was fouled with two ticks remaining. He calmly stepped to the line and made both free throws and SSU's last shot attempt fell short allowing the Ospreys to claim the win.

For the game, UNF posted a 32-30 advantage in rebounding and overcame 16 turnovers an a tough 2-for-11 (18 percent) shooting performance from long distance.

North Florida concludes its current home stand, Thursday at 7 p.m., against Webber International.