Ospreys Best Bucs, 77-64

Thursday, February 21

Jacksonville, Fla.

7 pm

University of North Florida

11-17, 6-9ASUN

ETSU

9-20, 7-9ASUN

ETSU

North Florida

Photo by: Todd Drexler

2/21/2013 10:01:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

Final Boxscore (pdf)
Game Book

JACKSONVILLE -- The North Florida basketball team never trailed and led by double digits for much of the game en route to a strong 77-64 victory Thursday night over East Tennessee State at UNF Arena.

The Ospreys (11-17, 6-9 Atlantic Sun) snapped a two-game skid with the wire-to-wire victory over the Bucs (9-20, 7-9). With the win, UNF has secured a spot in the Atlantic Sun tournament for the fourth consecutive season and also earned the program's first regular season victory over ETSU.

Junior Charles McRoy collected his first career double-double finishing with career highs for both points (16) and rebounds (10) in sparking the Ospreys off the bench. Travis Wallace finished with 17 points to lead all UNF scorers while Beau Beech (14) and Parker Smith (11) also netted double figures.

For the game, UNF hauled down a season best 47 rebounds including 17 on the offensive end and turned them into 18 second chance points. The Ospreys held the Bucs to just 37 percent shooting from the floor and just 33 percent from long distance.

Jarvis Jones and Rashawn Rembert both finished with 16 points to pace ETSU on offense.

Smith got things started early for UNF drilling back-to-back threes to open the game. The Ospreys built an 18-4 lead midway through the first half. A dunk from Beech with 3:16 left in the opening stanza gave UNF its largest lead of the frame, 29-12. North Florida carried a 33-21 lead into the halftime break.

In the first meeting between the two squads this season, UNF held a 12-point lead at the break only to see the Bucs rally in the second half for the win. Things were different in the rematch as the Ospreys refused to wilt to the ETSU fullcourt and maintained a comfortable lead the remainder of the game.

The Bucs made a mini charge midway thru the second half pulling within eight, 46-38, after seven straight points but a basket from Wallace followed by a three-pointer by Beech quickly pushed the margin back to 13. ETSU closed the gap to 10 points late in the game but UNF converted seven of eight free throws in the closing minutes to secure the victory.

"This was a great win tonight," said UNF head coach Matthew Driscoll, who has now led the program to 55 wins in his four seasons matching the most victories in any four-year span at North Florida. "I thought we played with tremendous resolve and toughness the entire game. I was pleased with our defensive effort but we have to play with more poise down the stretch of games. I felt like the staff did a great job preparing the game plan and the guys were focused on executing it. We have to continue to build heading into the final regular season games."

North Florida concludes the home portion of its 2012-13 schedule on Saturday when the Ospreys host USC Upstate at 4:30 p.m. The UNF seniors quartet of Andy Diaz, David Jeune, Parker Smith and Will Wilson will be recognized during a pregame ceremony.