Final Boxscore (pdf)

FT. MYERS, Fla.—Hindered by cold shooting, the North Florida basketball team dropped an 81-65 decision to FGCU, Saturday night at Alico Arena.

For the Ospreys (18-8, 7-2), the loss marked their second in a row and ended a four-game road win streak while the Eagles (14-11, 5-4) halted a four-game skid of their own with the victory.

UNF shot 35 percent from the floor (21-60) for the game while also hitting just 10 of 35 three-point attempts (28 percent). The Ospreys also struggled from the free throw line converting just 13 of 22 tries (59 percent). 

The Eagles were also cool from the charity stripe, making just 14 of 25, but shot 51 percent (32-63) and posted a 48-18 scoring advantage in the paint. 

Beau Beech led the way for North Florida finishing with 20 points and nine rebounds while Chris Davenport (14) and Trent Mackey (13) also both reached double digits. Dallas Moore handed out five assists but was limited to a season low five points on the night.

Six different FGCU players had double figures led by 16 points from Julian DeBose and a double-double of 13 points, 11 rebounds for Marc-Eddy Norelia.

FGCU flew out of the gates scoring the first nine points en route to a 17-2 game-opening run.  The Ospreys eventually got things on track and used a strong defensive effort to slowly chip away at the deficit.

After their slow start, UNF would close the half on a 31-12 run capped by a 15-4 surge over the final four minutes of play to actually gain a 35-34 halftime advantage.

The two squads would trade baskets over the first few minutes of the second half before the Eagles used a 22-10 spurt to regain the momentum and close out the contest. FGCU shot 57 percent from the floor in the decisive second half including a stretch of seven consecutive made field goals.

"Give FGCU credit for coming out and playing with a great deal of energy and effort," said head coach Matthew Driscoll. "I thought we responded and were resilient after their strong start in the first half. I was proud of our fight and determination to get stops and take the lead. Unfortunately, we weren't able to answer their second half push. We have to be able to defend effectively even when our offense isn't hitting on all cylinders. We are still in first place in the league but we have to get refocused and prepared for the remainder of the schedule."

North Florida continues its current three-game road stretch with games at Kennesaw State (Feb. 11) and Lipscomb (Feb. 13).