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Game Book

COLUMBIA, S.C. --  The North Florida basketball team made 10 three-pointers and got 21 points from Dallas Moore in a tough 81-56 season opening loss to South Carolina on Friday night at Colonial Life Arena.

Moore, the reigning Atlantic Sun Freshman of the Year and preseason all-conference honoree, made 7 of 13 field goal attempts including a trio of three-pointers and a perfect 4-4 performance at the free throw line. It marked his fourth career 20-point outing.

The Ospreys (0-1) struggled through a pair of scoring droughts in the first half as the Gamecocks (1-0) capitalized on 12 minutes of scoreless play by UNF to build a 48-27 halftime advantage. With the score tied at 6, South Carolina outscored the Ospreys 16-2 over a six-minute span to open up a double-digit advantage. Following back-to-back treys from Jalen Nesbitt and Trent Mackey cut the deficit back to single digits, 25-16, USC scored 13 straight points while holding the Ospreys scoreless for six minutes.

South Carolina outrebounded UNF, 21-11, in the opening half including a 6-0 edge on the offensive end. The Gamecocks also forced nine first half turnovers by the Ospreys and shot a blistering 53 percent (17-32) from the floor.

"The difference in the game was their physical play and rebounding in the first half," said head coach Matthew Driscoll. "They came out early and hit us pretty hard and we just didn't respond. I felt like we had some opportunities to score in the first half but missed shots we usually make. In the second half, the game was much more even on both ends. We have to get better and learn from tonight."

The two squads traded baskets for much of the second half as the Gamecock advantaged hovered in the 20-point range for most of the period. A trio of Ospreys fouled out of the contest including juniors Beau Beech and Demarcus Daniels as well as sophomore Chris Davenport. Beech made a trio of three-pointers despite playing in just 23 minutes due to foul trouble. The trio also shared team honors for rebounding with five each.

North Florida next opens up its home schedule on Monday night when the Ospreys host Webber International at 7 p.m. in UNF Arena.

Follow all of the action for UNF basketball on Twitter - @OspreyMBB.