University of North Florida
-1515, 98 ASun
Mercer
-228, 134 ASun
SWEEP There it is... #MBB Overcomes Mercer in OT
2/27/2014 9:42:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Final Boxscore (pdf)
Game Book
MACON, Ga. -- Jalen Nesbitt and Travis Wallace scored 18 points each as visiting North Florida stunned Mercer on its home court, winning 79-76 in overtime on Thursday.
With Mercer (22-8, 13-4 Atlantic Sun) leading 69-66 and just 20 seconds to play, Nesbitt was fouled on a layup and his three-point play tied the game at 69. UNF senior Charles McRoy swatted away Mercer's game-winning attempt at the buzzer forcing overtime.
Nesbitt's heroics continued into overtime on a tie-breaking layup with 38 seconds to play. Nesbitt scored again on a dunk following Mercer's missed 3-pointer and the Ospreys led 78-74 and held on for the win.
North Florida (15-15, 9-8) trailed Mercer 35-30 at the break but bounced back to a 41-39 lead after the first 7 minutes of the second period.
Langston Hall led Bear scorers with 24 points and Mercer still remains tied atop the conference as co-leader Florida Gulf Coast also lost on Thursday night.
"I'm really proud of our guys and how they played tonight," said UNF head coach Matthew Driscoll. "Leading into the game, we talked about focusing on controlling the things that we could control and I felt like that's what we did tonight. We were focused and just went out and took care of our business. This was another true team effort with so many different guys making huge plays when we needed them. We are excited to earn this victory and just want to continue building momentum as we get ready for tournament play."
In addition to Nesbitt and Wallace's strong play, UNF also got double digit outings from Beau Beech (15 points) and Dallas Moore (13 points). Chris Davenport pulled down a game best 10 rebounds in helping the Ospreys earn a 38-36 advantage on the glass. UNF overcame 19 turnovers for the game using a solid defensive effort that limited the Bears to just 4-14 shooting from long range (0-3 in overtime) and 25 percent shooting in extra period.
North Florida, who is currently battling for fifth-place seeding in the upcoming conference tournament, closes out its regular season schedule at Kennesaw State on Saturday at 1 p.m.
