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University of North Florida Athletics

Noah Horchler jumps up to dunk the ball
Todd Drexler
81
Eastern Michigan EMU 5-2
84
Winner North Florida UNF 2-7
Eastern Michigan EMU
5-2
81
Final
84
North Florida UNF
2-7
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 OT 1 F
Eastern Michigan EMU 31 46 4 81
North Florida UNF 38 39 7 84

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Trinity Baptist

12/2/2017 | 7 p.m.

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Dec. 02 (Sat) / 7 p.m.
 Trinity Baptist
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Game Recap: Men's Basketball | | North Florida Athletics

Ospreys Edge Eastern Michigan in Overtime, 84-81

QUICK GLANCE
Score: North Florida 84, Eastern Michigan 81
Records: North Florida (2-7) | Eastern Michigan (5-2)
Location: UNF Arena (Jacksonville, Fla.)
The Short Story: A late three from Ivan Gandia-Rosa forced overtime and strong defense in the closing seconds sealed an 84-81 victory for the North Florida men's basketball team over Eastern Michigan on Wednesday night at UNF Arena. Garrett Sams finished with 20 points to lead a quartet of Ospreys in double figures.

GAMEDAY MEDIA CENTER
Final Boxscore PDF | Full Game Book

OPENING TIP
- Garrett Sams scored a season high 20 including 4 three-pointers in leading UNF in scoring
- Noah Horchler and Ivan Gandia-Rosa each chipped in 14 points while JT Escobar added 12
- Horchler and Wajid Aminu shared team rebounding honors with 9 apiece
- Freshman Ryan Burkhardt drilled a trio of treys en route to a career best 9 points
- Eastern Michigan, ranked 24th in the latest Mid-Major Poll, saw a pair of players finish with double-doubles: James Thompson (29 pts/15 rebs) and Elijah Minnie (18 pts/11 rebs)
- #BirdsofTrey finished with 13 3PM while limiting the Eagles to just two

GAME CAPSULE
First Half Trends
- After trading the lead several times in the early going, UNF slowly began taking a lead behind 8 3PM in the opening half
- Leading by one, 23-22, with 5:34 left in the period, North Florida scored 10 straight points to build a double-digit advantage
- Trip Day hit a pair of FTs to start the run followed by back-to-back triples from Escobar and Burkhardt. Gandia-Rosa capped the surge with a running floater in the lane
- Horchler slammed home a dunk with 1:21 on the clock to give UNF its largest lead of the night (38-26)
- EMU closed the half with five straight points and cutting the Osprey advantage to 38-31 at intermission
- UNF shot 33% from the floor in the half but were 8-17 (47%) from long distance 

Second Half Trends
- The Ospreys maintained a lead through much of the second half as the squads traded baskets for several possessions
- A Sams trey with 13:45 remaining put UNF in front, 57-47
- From that point, EMU began to chip away at the North Florida lead taking advantage of some turnovers and missed shots
- With just over 5 minutes left to play, the Eagles pulled within a point and kept it a one-possession margin until Jordan Nobles connected on a three-pointer with 1:02 on the clock to tie the score at 74
- The Eagles would take their first lead since early in the first half behind two FTs from Minnie. Tim Bond made his first FT but missed his second to set-up the dramatic finish in regulation
- With the shot clock and game clock winding down, Gandia-Rosa drilled a three-pointer from the top of the key to knot the score at 77 with 8 ticks left
- EMU drove the ball but their game-winning layup missed at the buzzer, sending the game to extra time

Overtime Trends
- Wajid Aminu and Minnie traded making FTs to keep the game tied at 79
- Gandia-Rosa converted a driving layup to give the Ospreys a lead they would not relinquish on the next possession
- Aminu converted one of two FTs to extend the lead to three with 2 minutes left to play
- Thompson got a putback layup to cut the Eagles' deficit to one, but Horchler hit a short shot in the paint to widen the lead again for UNF
- Horchler then corralled a missed jumper by EMU in the closing seconds to secure the victory
- The Eagles had a final chance but failed to get a shot off before the buzzer sounded

INSIDE THE BOXSCORE
- Ospreys remain undefeated at home this season (2-0) and have now won four straight at UNF Arena
- Marked first OT game for UNF since a 79-76 win at Mercer on Feb. 27, 2014 | Improved to 6-2 all-time in OT under Driscoll
- North Florida played the last 6:48 in regulation and the entire OT without Escobar, who fouled out
- UNF tallied 19 assists on 29 baskets in the game while also winning the turnover battle, 14-13
- For the game, UNF shot 39% from the floor overall and 43% from the arc (13-30 3PM)

FROM THE TOP:
"Playing against a ranked Mid-Major team like them and getting a win is big for this team and our program. Give credit to our guys for working hard in practice and bringing that into the game and executing. We had some guys make big plays but that's something we saw them do when we were recruiting them. I am very proud of how this group continues to grow and make improvements through our challenging schedule. It was great to get this victory." -- Head coach Matthew Driscoll

NEXT UP
The Ospreys return to UNF Arena to face Eastern Michigan on Wednesday (Nov. 29). UNF will play three of its next four and back-to-back games at home.
 
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Players Mentioned

Wajid Aminu

#2 Wajid Aminu

F
6' 7"
Sophomore
International Business
Garrett Sams

#11 Garrett Sams

G/F
6' 6"
Sophomore
Business Management
Noah Horchler

#0 Noah Horchler

F
6' 8"
Sophomore
Exploratory
Ryan Burkhardt

#12 Ryan Burkhardt

G
6' 4"
Freshman
Exploratory
Ivan Gandia-Rosa

#21 Ivan Gandia-Rosa

G
6' 1"
Sophomore
Sport Management
Trip Day

#22 Trip Day

F
6' 7"
Freshman
Exploratory

Players Mentioned

Wajid Aminu

#2 Wajid Aminu

6' 7"
Sophomore
International Business
F
Garrett Sams

#11 Garrett Sams

6' 6"
Sophomore
Business Management
G/F
Noah Horchler

#0 Noah Horchler

6' 8"
Sophomore
Exploratory
F
Ryan Burkhardt

#12 Ryan Burkhardt

6' 4"
Freshman
Exploratory
G
Ivan Gandia-Rosa

#21 Ivan Gandia-Rosa

6' 1"
Sophomore
Sport Management
G
Trip Day

#22 Trip Day

6' 7"
Freshman
Exploratory
F