QUICK GLANCE
Score: North Florida 71 , #22 Syracuse 77
Records: North Florida (3-7) | Syracuse (5-2)
Location: Carrier Dome (Syracuse, N.Y.)
The Short Story: North Florida drilled a season high 10 three-pointers and rallied from a 24-point second half deficit before dropping a hard fought 77-71 decision to No. 22 Syracuse. Dallas Moore led all scorers with 30 points highlighted by 22 in the second half.

GAMEDAY MEDIA CENTER
Final Boxscore: PDF | Full Game Book

OPENING TIP
- Dallas Moore recorded his second consecutive 30-point effort and the sixth of his career. He matched his season- and career-high performance draining 6 three-pointers in the game.
- Nick Malonga reached double digits for the first time this season, finishing with 12 points in his first career game coming off the bench for UNF. Malonga also drained 3 treys, which eclipsed his combined season total of 2 from previous 9 games and snapped an 0-9 slump from long range.
- Freshman Wajid Aminu added 10 points and recorded his second career double-double after also pulling down 10 boards. Junior Romelo Banks shared team honors on the glass hauling in 10 rebounds. 
- SU's Andrew White III made a season- and team-high seven 3-pointers, shooting 53.8 percent (7-13) from behind the arc en route to a 26-point performance. The Orange shot 54.2 percent (13-24) from the 3-point line. Syracuse had four players reach double figures as White III was joined by Tyus Battle (19), DaJuan Coleman (15) and Frank Howard (10), who also added 13 assists to finish with a double-double. 

GAME TRENDS
-  The game opened with both teams struggling to make shots against the competing zone defenses. Syracuse made the first surge using an 8-0 run to build a 17-7 lead with 11:42 left in the first half.
- North Florida battled back and cut the deficit to 20-16 after holding the Orange scoreless for six minutes during a 7-0 run.
- The Orange closed the period with a flurry, outscoring UNF 14-2 over the final three minutes on their way to building a 34-23 lead at the break. Andrew White III was the spark for SU making 5 of his 7 treys for the night during the opening 20 minutes of action.
- The Ospreys kept things close in the first half thanks in part to a 14-2 advantage for points in the paint.
- Syracuse raced out the gates in the second half using a 12-2 spurt that pushed their lead to over 20 (46-25) with 16:35 remaining on the clock.
- With 12:07 left to play, Syracuse owned its largest lead of the night at 56-32 following a three-pointer from Tyus Battle.
- UNF answered with a 12-2 surge over the next three minutes of action highlighted by 10 points from Moore during the run to cut the deficit.
- Minutes later an 11-3 spurt by the Ospreys trimmed the deficit to single digits with just over 4 minutes left in the game.
- North Florida would get as close as 6 points a couple times in the closing minutes, but Syracuse was able to make enough FTs to hold on for the victory.

INSIDE THE BOXSCORE
- UNF's 71 points marked the second highest scoring total in program history against a ranked foe // 6-point loss is the smallest margin of defeat in program history versus a ranked team
- North Florida won the battle of the boards against a much taller Cuse squad, 41-33, marking the 7th time this season // Ospreys also held a 26-12 advantage for points in the paint and a 21-13 edge for second chance points
- UNF limited Orange bench to just 1 point while getting 14 from their own reserve crew
- Freshman Benedikt Haid made his collegiate debut at the 13:08 mark of 1st half and played 12 minutes in the game
- Freshman Garrett Sams, celebrating his 19th birthday, earned his first collegiate start
- UNF's 10 3PM was a season high and marked the first double-digit total of the year #BirdsofTrey
- Ospreys remained winless in road games falling to 0-4

SAY WHAT...
"We are a good team but our window for errors is very small against quality teams like this. I was really proud of how the guys continued to battle and compete. In games like this, sometimes you find yourself at a point where it can go one of two ways. We were down 24 and I looked the guys in the eyes during the timeout and said we can either let their lead grow to 30 or 40 points or we can keep scrapping and get some stops and try to whittle down the lead. To our guys credit, that's exactly what they did. We got stops on the defensive end and were able to take care of the ball and get some good shot opportunities for our guys. I think the big difference was the little run they went on to finish the first half and start the second half. We just need to work, fight and get better." -- Head coach Matthew Driscoll

NEXT UP
- Following a week off from competition for Fall Semester exams, North Florida returns to action with a two-game road swing beginning Saturday (Dec. 10) at Arkansas followed by a game versus UTRGV on Monday (Dec. 12).