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University of North Florida Athletics

JT Escobar hits a three-pointer against FGCU.
Todd Drexler
96
Winner FGCU FGCU 15-8 | 6-0 ASUN
87
North Florida UNF 9-14 | 3-3 ASUN
Winner
FGCU FGCU
15-8 | 6-0 ASUN
96
Final
87
North Florida UNF
9-14 | 3-3 ASUN
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
FGCU FGCU 53 43 96
North Florida UNF 41 46 87

Next Game:

at Stetson

1/27/2018 | 4 p.m.

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Jan. 27 (Sat) / 4 p.m.
at Stetson
History

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

Ospreys Clipped by FGCU, 96-87

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OPENING TIP
Score: North Florida 87, FGCU 96
Records: North Florida (9-14, 3-3 ASUN) | FGCU (15-8, 6-0 ASUN)
Location: UNF Arena (Jacksonville, Fla.)
The Short Story: JT Escobar and Garrett Sams both netted personal highs but it just wasn't enough as FGCU notched a 96-87 victory over the Ospreys in a hard fought game Wednesday night in UNF Arena. Escobar finished with 28 points while Sams chipped in 20 for North Florida.

GAMEDAY MEDIA CENTER
Final Boxscore PDF | Full Game Book

NOTABLE NUMBERS
- JT Escobar finished with a career high 28 including 10 FGM (6 3PM) | Marked his second career 20+ outing
- Garrett Sams matched his season and ASUN career high with 20 pts (4 3PM)
- Noah Horchler posted another double-double tallying 10 pts/11 rebs
- Ivan Gandia-Rosa just missed a double-double with 8 pts and 10 assists
- Trip Day also reached double figures, scoring 13 points
- FGCU had five players in double digits led by 19 from Zach Johnson | Michael Gilmore chipped in a double-double (14 pts/11 rebs)
- Eagles shot 55% from the floor but committed 19 turnovers
- #BirdsofTrey drilled 16 three-pointers and had a season best 14 steals

HOW IT HAPPENED
First Half Notes
- After trading baskets early in the game, FGCU used a 7-0 run to grab the lead
- UNF battled back to knot the score at 12 before five quick points by the Eagles pushed them back in front
- The game stayed close for much of the first period with the lead hovering between 4 and 7 points
- Following a Sams triple with 5:34 left that closed the Osprey deficit to just four, 37-33, FGCU rattled off eight straight points and extended their lead to double figures
- Three-pointers by Osborn Blount and Escobar in the closing minutes kept UNF in the game, but the Eagles carried a 53-41 lead into intermission
- Eagles shot 60% from the floor in the period, but UNF drilled 8 threes 

Second Half Notes
- The Ospreys turned things up defensively to start the second half and slowly began to chip away at the deficit
- An 11-4 surge midway through the period pulled the Ospreys back | Escobar sparked the rally with a trio of treys including back-to-back buckets from beyond the arc to cap the run
- North Florida trimmed the margin to three points on several occasions with the last coming at 75-72 with 8:20 on the clock
- The squads went back-and-forth on the offensive end before FGCU got three FTs and a dunk from Johnson to widen their lead to 9
- UNF continued to fight down the stretch but the Eagles converted the necessary free throws and rebounds to hold on for the victory

INSIDE THE BOXSCORE
- Ospreys hit double-digit treys for the 14th game this season
- Horchler had his 8th double-double of the season and 4th in the last 5 games | Also matched a career best with 4 blocks
- Osborn Blount snatched a personal high 6 steals, the most since Beau Beech at five against JU in 2015
- Trip Day reached double figures for the 10th straight game
- UNF attempted a program record 47 three-pointers in the game
- Loss marked the sixth in a row to FGCU
- Gandia-Rosa posted 10+ assists for the second straight game and third of the season 

LAST WORD
"I thought our energy level was bad to start. I thought they got rolling and we allowed our offense to dictate our energy especially on the defensive end. In the second half, we decided to do what we were supposed to do and were able to make a comeback. We outscored them by three in the second half and we were able to get all these points because we go all these stops. Our guys in game 23 decided to finally defend so we could get some easy offense instead of not defending and letting them score and then try to work it back on offense which is tough to do because every shot becomes more critical and difficult. We took some bad shots tonight. We took bad ones in the second half, but they were much worse in the first. I don't blame it on inexperience or anything else except a lack of mental toughness. We have to be more mentally tough and take care of the little details because when you fight as hard to cut the lead like we did to make it anybody's ball game. This group was again resilient and not quitting. It's a forty minute game and when you play top of the league teams in a swing game for a chance to move up in the standings, we can't decide when we're going to turn it on or not. I thought that's exactly what the guys did." -- Head coach Matthew Driscoll

NEXT UP
North Florida opens a weekend road trip Saturday against Stetson in the Edmunds Center at 4 p.m.

 
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Players Mentioned

Osborn Blount

#10 Osborn Blount

G
5' 10"
Redshirt Senior
Educational Leadership
Garrett Sams

#11 Garrett Sams

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

#0 Noah Horchler

F
6' 8"
Sophomore
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

Osborn Blount

#10 Osborn Blount

5' 10"
Redshirt Senior
Educational Leadership
G
Garrett Sams

#11 Garrett Sams

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

#0 Noah Horchler

6' 8"
Sophomore
Exploratory
F
Ivan Gandia-Rosa

#21 Ivan Gandia-Rosa

6' 1"
Sophomore
Sport Management
G
Trip Day

#22 Trip Day

6' 7"
Freshman
Exploratory
F