Ospreys Earn Season SWOOP of Dolphins with 73-69 Victory

Thursday, February 23

Jacksonville, Fla.

7:00 p.m.

University of North Florida

13-18, 8-6ASUN

Jacksonville

17-14, 5-9ASUN

Jacksonville

North Florida

Aaron Bodager dribbles the basketball in a game at UNF Arena

Photo by: Todd Drexler

2/23/2017 9:58:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

By: North Florida Athletics

QUICK GLANCE
Score: North Florida 73, Jacksonville 69
Records: North Florida (13-18, 8-6 ASUN) | Jacksonville (17-14, 5-9 ASUN)
Location: UNF Arena (Jacksonville, Fla.)
The Short Story: The North Florida basketball team notched his eighth consecutive victory over rival Jacksonville on Thursday night, topping the Dolphins 73-69 in the regular season finale for both squads. Senior Aaron Bodager scored a career best 20 points including 6 three-pointers while fellow senior Dallas Moore added 25.

GAMEDAY MEDIA CENTER
Final Boxscore PDF | Full Game Book

OPENING TIP
- Bodager was the spark in the first half for the Ospreys, going 6-for-10 from beyond the arc. The six treys marked a career best for the fifth-year player, while his two free throws in the closing seconds to secure the victory pushed him to a career high total in his final regular season contest.
- Moore scored 21 of his game high total in the second half, notching his 20th game of the season with 20+ points. He also handed out six assists and had a pair of steals.
- Fellow senior Chris Davenport just missed a double-double finishing with 9 points and a team-best 10 rebounds
- JU saw three players reach double digits led by 18 from Marcel White and 17 for Darien Fernandez
- With the victory, UNF earned the No. 3 seed in the upcoming ASUN Tournament and will host No. 6 seed Jacksonville on Monday (Feb. 27) at 7 p.m. in UNF Arena.

GAME CAPSULE
First Half Trends
- North Florida grabbed the early lead scoring the first seven points of the game behind a dunk from Romelo Banks, Bodager's first trey and a layup by Moore.
- The Ospreys would maintain an advantage over the next several minutes of play before building their largest lead of the game, 31-18 with 5:30 left in the period. Bodager drilled back-to-back-to-back treys in a little over a minute to cap the surge by UNF.
- JU responded with seven straight points as part of a 12-2 run to close the margin to three points. A defensive switch by the Dolphins from man to zone seemed to slow down the Osprey offense for a stretch
- UNF owned a 35-30 lead at intermission

Second Half Trends
- The final 20 minutes featured runs by both squads
- UNF opened the second stanza with an 11-2 spurt, which Jacksonville answered with a 10-2 run of their own
- Ospreys posted another 11-2 surge capped by a thunderous dunk by Davenport to build a 54-44 advantage with 11:53 left to play
- The Dolphins scored the next 10 points to force the only tie of the night, 54-54, with 8:00 on the clock
- Moore drilled a three-pointer from the top of the key on UNF's next possession and the Ospreys kept a lead for the rest of the game
- UNF would push its lead to as many as 9 points in the closing minutes but Fernandez scored JU's final 11 points including a pair of threes to keep the score close
- The Ospreys converted enough free throws in the final minute to secure the season sweep and earn another River City Rumble barrel point

INSIDE THE BOXSCORE
- With the victory, UNF earned the No. 3 seed in the upcoming ASUN Tournament and will host No. 6 seed Jacksonville in quarterfinal action on Monday night in UNF Arena at 7 p.m.
- The Ospreys senior class (Moore, Davenport, Bodager) improved to 8-0 in their careers against Jacksonville. The trio also matched last year's senior class (Beau Beech & Demarcus Daniels) with 74 career victories, the most in program history
- UNF outrebounded the Dolphins, 42-37, marking the 18th game this season that Ospreys have won the battle of the boards
- North Florida never trailed in the game and the score was tied for just 1:49 of the 40 minutes of play

SAY WHAT...
"It is always a challenge to play a game like this against a team that shoot the ball as well as they can shoot it. I thought we did a good job of limiting their looks from the three-point arc for much of the game. I was really please with the job we did in the second half of not letting them get second chance points and also taking care of the ball better on our end of the floor. Thrilled for Aaron (Bodager) tonight because he is a guy that has just stuck to the plan and done what we've asked him to do. It was great to see our guys sustain at being who they are and doing what they do. Great way to finish the regular season but now our focus is on our quarterfinal game in the ASUN Tournament." -- Head coach Matthew Driscoll

NEXT UP
- The Ospreys face Jacksonville again on Monday (Feb. 27) in the quarterfinal round of the ASUN Championship Tournament. The game will tip at 7 p.m. at UNF Arena. Tickets are available online at UNFOspreys.com.
ASUN Tournament Bracket