QUICK GLANCE
Score: North Florida 84, UTRGV 98
Records: North Florida (3-9) | UTRGV (4-8)
Location: UTRGV Fieldhouse (Edinburg, Texas)
The Short Story: A sluggish first half of play proved costly for the North Florida basketball team in their 98-84 loss at UT Rio Grande Valley on Monday night. The Ospreys trailed 50-29 at the break before scoring 55 points of their own in a late charge that came up short. 

GAMEDAY MEDIA CENTER
Final Boxscore: PDF | Full Game Book


OPENING TIP
- Dallas Moore collected his fifth consecutive 20+ point performance finishing with 24 points to pace the Osprey attack, Moore also had five rebounds and team high three assists.
- Freshman Garrett Sams netted a career high 17 points, all in the second half, while redshirt sophomore Karlos Odum narrowly missed his first career double-double totalling 11 points and a personal best 9 rebounds
- The difference in the game proved to be a pair of first half runs that allowed UTRGV to build a margin that UNF was unable to completely erase.
- The Vaqueros saw a pair of players reach the 20-point mark, led by 24 for Antonio Green which featured an 8-for-12 outing from long distance.

GAME TRENDS
1st Half Reflections
- UTRGV opened the game with a 13-6 spurt, followed minutes later by a 7 point push that gave them a double figure (24-14) lead with 13:08 on the clock.
- The Ospreys would hold the Vaqueros scoreless for the next three minutes while scoring 6 straight points to trim the deficit
- Over the final 10 minutes of the period, Rio Grande Valley outscored UNF, 26-9, en route to a 50-29 lead at the half... The closing run got tipped off by a 14-0 spurt that featured six straight points from Nick Dixon and was capped by back-to-back treys
- UTRGV was a perfect 9-9 from the FT line in the half while the Ospreys missed all six of their tries from the charity stripe
- Ospreys finished the half with 10 turnovers... The Vaqueros committed just five with three coming in the final two minutes of action

2nd Half Reflections
-  UNF outscored the home team, 55-48, over the final 20 minutes of action
- Ospreys tried to make a charge early in the stanza, but UTRGV was able to keep their lead as their first five baskets of the half came from beyond the arc
- The Vaqueros built their largest advantage, 71-42, with 14:38 left in the game... The margin was reached following a 21-13 run that included 4 treys by Antonio Green
- With 6 minutes left, North Florida inserted their reserves trailing by 22 points... The bench crew responded with a 15-3 rally that closed the margin to 10 (92-82) with just over a minute remaining
- After not making a FT in the first half, North Florida converted 23 of 27 chances from the line in the second half

INSIDE THE BOXSCORE
- All 11 players that made the trip played for the Ospreys
- UNF slipped to 0-6 this season in road games
- UTRGV's 50 points marked the most first half points allowed by the Ospreys this season... The 21-point halftime deficit was the team's second largest of the year (-28 vs Miami)
- Ospreys outrebounded their 8th opponent of the year, winning the battle on the glass, 43-35

SAY WHAT...
"We had a great day of preparation and practice for this game and I really felt like we were ready to come out and play with a lot of passion. Unfortunately, we got hit hard early and weren't able to respond with the urgency that we needed. That was disappointing to me. We need for somebody else to step up alongside Dallas and help us out. We don't have time to feel sorry for ourselves so we just need to head home and find a way to get better." -- Head coach Matthew Driscoll

NEXT UP
- North Florida hosts Thomas University on Thursday at 7 p.m. The game marks the Ospreys lone home contest in a current six-game span. Following the game, UNF wraps up its pre-Christmas ledger with road tilts at Connecticut (Dec. 18) and FIU (Dec. 21).