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University of North Florida Athletics

Ivan Gandia-Rosa dribbles the ball in UNF Arena
Todd Drexler
85
FIU FIU 5-5
87
Winner North Florida UNF 5-7
FIU FIU
5-5
85
Final
87
North Florida UNF
5-7
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
FIU FIU 40 45 85
North Florida UNF 47 40 87

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at Missouri

12/16/2017 | 8:30 p.m.

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Dec. 16 (Sat) / 8:30 p.m.
at Missouri
History

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | | North Florida Athletics

Free Throws and Rebounds Propel Ospreys Past FIU, 87-85

QUICK GLANCE
Score: North Florida 87, FIU 85
Records: North Florida (5-7) | FIU (5-5)
Location: UNF Arena (Jacksonville, Fla.)
The Short Story: North Florida made 11 of its final 12 free throws in the closing minutes of a tightly contested game with in-state foe FIU and earned a hard fought 87-85 victory on Wednesday night at UNF Arena. Ivan Gandia-Rosa (24) and Trip Day (13) both netted career highs in helping the Ospreys to the home win.

GAMEDAY MEDIA CENTER
Final Boxscore PDF | Full Game Book

OPENING TIP
- The Ospreys had five players in double digits led by Gandia-Rosa's 24 point effort that included a perfect 12-12 performance at the charity stripe
- Day matched his personal best with 13 points while Noah Horchler tallied his second double-double in the last three games finishing with 10 points and a career-best matching 14 rebounds
- Wajid Aminu added 10 points and Garrett Sams chipped in 12 (3 3PM)
- FIU also had five double figure scorers paced by 18 from Hassan Hussein
- #BirdsofTrey connected on 11 three-pointers, marking the squad's 8th game this year with double digit 3PM
- UNF also won thee battle of the board, 39-36

GAME CAPSULE
First Half Trends
- The game seesawed back-and-forth over the opening five minutes
- The Panthers seized a six-point lead, 23-17, midway through the first stanza
- Garrett Sams converted a three-point play followed by a trey to tie the score and Ryan Burkhardt answered an FIU three with a triple of his own to knot the score at 26
- Trailing by four (36-32) with five minutes remaining in the first period, the Ospreys closed the half with a 15-4 surge to hold a 47-40 lead at intermission
- UNF shot 53% (17-32) from the floor and hit 7 three-pointers

Second Half Trends
- The Panthers roared out of the halftime break, outscoring the Ospreys, 12-1 to regain the lead
- During the sluggish start, UNF missed three shots and also committed five turnovers
- FIU would maintain a lead for much of the second half, building as large as an 8-point advantage (73-65) with just under 8 minutes remaining
- A 9-2 spurt by the Ospreys sparked by a four-point play and a three-point play from Gandia-Rosa would cut the UNF deficit to one, 75-74
- North Florida would tie the score a couple times and recaptured the lead for good following three FTs by Gandia-Rosa with 3:33 on the clock
- The Ospreys widened their lead to four points late in the game when Gandia-Rosa converted a pair of free throws
- Panthers made a layup at the buzzer for the final margin

INSIDE THE BOXSCORE
- Win extended UNF's current steak to four games and also kept Ospreys undefeated (4-0) at home this year
- 7 of the 8 Ospreys that played made a three-pointer
- Ospreys overcame a 56-34 deficit in points scored in the paint and 20 points allowed on 18 turnovers
- Gandia-Rosa scored 15 points for UNF during the final six minutes of play

THOUGHTS FROM THE TOP:
"One of the great things we've learned about this team during the early part of the season is that they have a tremendous spirit of cohesiveness and that showed again tonight. This was a total team effort and a good win for this inexperienced group and our program. We challenged the team midway through the second half after we started the period with eight consecutive empty possessions. I was proud of the way they fought back and chipped away at the lead and never really allowed FIU to separate from us. We say all the time that games come down to free throws and rebounds and tonight we made 11 of 12 free throws down the stretch and the one we missed we got the rebound. We also tallied a plus three in the rebounding battle. We continue to grow and get better." -- Head coach Matthew Driscoll

NEXT UP
North Florida tips off a week-long three-game road trip on Saturday against Missouri. Stretch of games will also include contests at Ball State (Dec. 19) and LSU (Dec. 22).
 
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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