Ospreys 2nd Half Slump Costly at Mercer

Saturday, February 9

Macon, Ga.

4:30 pm

University of North Florida

10-16 (5-8ASun)

Mercer

16-9 (9-3ASun)

North Florida

Mercer

2/9/2013 6:38:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

Final Box (pdf)
Final Book

MACON, Ga. -- After a back-and-forth first half, North Florida struggled on both ends of the floor as Mercer raced to a 64-44 victory on Saturday evening at Hawkins Arena.

The Ospreys (10-16, 5-8 ASun) saw their two-game win streak snapped by the Bears (16-9, 9-3), who won their fourth straight and earned a season sweep of UNF.

Travis Wallace and Andy Diaz each scored 10 points for the Ospreys. Will Wilson led the team with six rebounds and also handed out three assists to set a new North Florida single season mark with 164.

The Bears were led by 13 points from Travis Smith, including a trio of three-pointers. Bud Thomas and Daniel Coursey each added 12 for Mercer. MU also collected 20 assists on 24 baskets in the game and shot 56 percent from the floor in the second half.

"The difference in the game was without a doubt defensive desire," said UNF head coach Matthew Driscoll. "Give Mercer credit for their defensive effort. They also made shots and played with more energy than us for some reason. We are just going to have to keep working and find a way to play energized for 40 minutes."

After scoring the opening basket, North Florida would go without a basket for the next four minutes as the Bears built a 13-2 advantage. Mercer would lead by as much as 13 in the first half before the Ospreys swooped back on the strength of a 14-2 surge of their own to cut the deficit to one, 23-22, with 2:59 on the clock.

A basket by Diaz with 36 seconds left evened the score at 26 all but Jakob Gollon connected on a three-pointer at the buzzer giving the Bears a 29-26 halftime lead.

Mercer carried that momentum into the second half as the Bears outscored UNF, 14-4, over the first six minutes of play. The margin remained double digits for the remainder of the contest as the Ospreys were unable to mount a late charge due to a chilly 25 percent shooting performance in the second half.

North Florida next faces crosstown rival Jacksonville in their only game in the next 12 days. The SunTrust River City Rumble rematch is scheduled for Friday, Feb. 15 at Veterans Memorial Arena.