Final Boxscore (pdf)
Game Book

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- The North Florida basketball team remained undefeated in Atlantic Sun Conference play after dominating Kennesaw State, 86-67, on Thursday night in UNF Arena.

The Ospreys (14-9, 6-0 ASun) extended their current win streak to seven games, matching the program's all-time record, after topping the Owls (6-16, 1-5) for the 11th consecutive time. UNF also became the first team since Belmont in 2010-11 to open the conference slate 6-0.

Jalen Nesbitt and Beau Beech each finished with 17 points to pace a balanced offensive attack that saw seven players score nine or more points. Chris Davenport chipped in 13 points and a team-high eight rebounds while Trent Mackey also reached double digits scoring 12. Dallas Moore matched his career high with nine assists as the Ospreys handed out 19 assists for the game.

Kennesaw State saw five players reach double figures led by 14 from both Nigel Pruitt and Damien Wilson. Willy Kouassi added 12 points and nine rebounds in the loss.

North Florida raced out of the gates in their first home game in over two weeks, grabbing a 12-2 lead after just four minutes of play. The Ospreys would extend their lead to 20 with six minutes left in the period before carrying a 48-23 lead into the halftime break.

UNF blistered the nets at a 68 percent clip in the first half, going 19-28 from the floor while holding the Owls to just 35 percent (10-29). The Ospreys also controlled the action around the bucket, outscoring KSU, 22-8, in the paint.

The Ospreys would continue their strong play early in the second half, extending their lead to 29 points, 61-32, with 15 minutes remaining. Kennesaw State responded with a 10-0 run over the next three minutes to cut into the margin but could get no closer as the team's traded baskets for much of the remainder of the game. The Owls finished with 44 points in the second half, marking the most by an Atlantic Sun opponent this season against UNF.

For the game, UNF shot 50 percent from the field while KSU finished at 44 percent. The Ospreys drilled 10 three-pointers marking the 14th game this season they have tallied double-figure treys. North Florida also kept their current streak of scoring over 74 points while holding opponent's below 70 points in each of their league games.

"I am super proud of how we started off in our first home game in awhile," said head coach Matthew Driscoll. "I felt like we did a great job of creating offensive opportunities throughout the game but were able to convert them better in the first half. Our first shot defensive effort continues to be outstanding but we still need to keep finding ways of limiting second chance opportunities. Overall, its great to be back home and awesome to earn another victory."

North Florida continues its current three-game home stand against USC Upstate on Saturday at 7 p.m.