Wallace Double-Double Helps #MBB Dunk Dolphins, 86-82

Friday, January 17

Jacksonville, Fla.

7 pm

University of North Florida

11-9, 5-2ASUN

Jacksonville

8-10, 4-2ASun

Jacksonville

North Florida

Photo by: Todd Drexler

1/17/2014 11:19:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

By: North Florida Athletics

Final Boxscore (pdf)
Game Book
Postgame Press Conference

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Senior Travis Wallace scored 27 points and pulled down a career best 19 rebounds as the North Florida basketball team downed crosstown rival Jacksonville, 86-82, in the SunTrust River City Rumble on Friday night at UNF Arena in front of a school record 5,068 fans.

With the win, UNF improves to 11-9 on the season and 5-2 in Atlantic Sun Conferece play while also snapping a two-game losing streak against the Dolphins, who fell to 8-10 and 4-3 in the A-Sun.

Wallace's double-double was his second of the season and fourth of his career. It marked the 13th time in his career that he has topped 20 points in a game and matched the second best single game total of his career. His 19 boards marked the single game high in the A-Sun this season and was just one rebound shy of the UNF single game record of 20, set by Chris Sneed in 1993.

Freshman Dallas Moore added 15 points for the Ospreys including a pair of late driving layups that helped UNF secure the victory, while senior Charles McRoy chipped in 13 and sophomore Demarcus Daniels finished with 11.

JU's duo of Jarvis Haywood and Keith McDougald combined for 49 points, scoring 29 and 20 points, respectively. Haywood connected on 4-of-5 three-point attempts and scored 20 points in the first half.

"There is just something special about this team", said UNF head coach Matthew Driscoll, who has guided the Ospreys to four of the program's five wins in the all-time series. "I thought we again showed great resilence and competitiveness. Despite being down at the half, I thought we were in good shape because they shot 60 percent and we were only down seven. Give credit to our guys for just continuing to execute the game plan and get the defensive stops we needed. I thought the atmosphere was outstanding and I give all the credit to our administration for working so hard to promote this game and draw this crowd. We continue to get better on the floor."

Jacksonville grabbed the early momentum jumping out to a 10-3 lead just three minutes into the game. The Ospreys would chip away at the deficit and force the first tie of the game, 17-17, after a three-pointer by Jalen Nesbitt with 13:36 on the clock. JU answered quickly with a Haywood trey just seconds later.

The Dolphins, who shot a blistering 60 percent from the floor in the first half, maintained a slight lead for much of the opening stanza, building their largest advantage, 48-39, with just over a minute remaining in the period. Four quick points by the Ospreys trimmed the deficit as Jacksonville carried a 50-43 lead into halftime.

North Florida raced out of the break scoring the first six points as part of a 17-8 surge allowing them to grab their first lead of the game, 60-58, with 13:04 left to play. The two rivals would swap the lead over the next several minutes until the Ospreys used an 11-3 spurt to swing a four-point deficit into a four-point lead (73-69), at the 3:47 mark.

With 2:27 remaining, McDougald hit a long three-pointer from the top of the key to knot the score at 75, but Daniels would answer hitting a corner trey on UNF's next possession giving the Ospreys the lead for good. Moore followed the trey with back-to-back driving layups as UNF widened its lead to seven with a minute left on the clock.

The Ospreys would connect on several free throws in the closing seconds to secure the victory as the Dolphin's late rally came up short.

For the game, UNF held a 46-39 advantage on the boards with the Osprey's claiming 17 offensive rebounds. After shooting so well in the first half, JU was held to just 32 percent shooting in the second half. The two squads also combined for just seven turnovers in a game that saw 168 total points.

The crowd marked the largest attendance in UNF Arena basketball history, smashing the previous mark of 4,018 for last season's UNF-JU contest.

North Florida next hits the road for a pair of games at ETSU and USC Upstate, which mark the end of the first half of the Atlantic Sun Conference schedule.