OPENING TIP
Score: North Florida 76, Charleston Southern 70
Records: North Florida (4-5) | Charleston Southern (4-4)
Location: Buc Dome (Charleston, S.C.)
The Short Story: The North Florida men's basketball team held off a late second half charge from Charleston Southern en route to picking up the squad's first road win of the season, 76-70, at the Buc Dome, Garrett Sams scored 20 points to lead a quartet of Ospreys in double digits.

GAMEDAY MEDIA CENTER
Final Boxscore

NOTABLE NUMBERS
- Garrett Sams netted a season best 20 points and pulled down seven rebounds in the UNF victory
- Noah Hochler just missed his fifth double-double performance finishing with 17 points/9 rebounds while Ivan Gandia-Rosa tallied 15 points with 5 treys
- Trip Day also reached double figures with 12 points and Wajid Aminu pulled down 9 rebounds
- CSU had three players in double figures led by 16 points from Dontrelle Shuler of the bench
- North Florida overcame 25 turnovers and 10 missed free throws by limiting the Bucs to 38% from the floor and outrebounding CSU, 47-35
- #BirdsofTrey also reached double digit 3PM, hitting 10, for the second time this year

HOW IT HAPPENED
First Half Notes
- Scoring runs from both teams highlighted the opening portion of the first half with Charleston Southern owning a slim lead until a trey from Garrett Sams put UNF in front for the first time
- With the score even at 22-22, North Florida used a 10-2 surge to build its largest lead of the half, 32-24 | Trip Day scored a pair of baskets in the run that was capped by back-to-back 3s from Ivan Gandia-Rosa
- A 9-2 spurt late in the frame from CSU saw the score tied at 37 before UNF closed the half by scoring the final five points including another trey by Gandia-Rosa in the closing seconds
- The Ospreys were plagued by 13 miscues resulting in 16 points for the Bucs in the first half, but still held a 42-37 lead at the break | Sams and Horchler each scored 11 in the period
  
Second Half Notes
- Charleston Southern scored the first four points of the second half to but the margin to one, but eight straight points from North Florida highlighted by five in a row from Sams put the Ospreys up by their largest margin of 9 (50-41)
- The Bucs chipped away at the deficit and eventually earned a tie at 58
- Minutes later, CSU used a 7-0 spurt to regain the lead for the first time since early in the game
- Trailing by five (65-60), Gandia-Rosa hit a three followed by a basket from Sams and a second trey for Gandia-Rosa that put UNF back in front for good 68-66 with 4:34 remaining
- The Bucs twice closed the gap to a single point but were unable to move back in front and the Ospreys secured the win with late baskets and free throws 

INSIDE THE BOXSCORE
- Win snapped a five-game road losing streak for the Ospreys and marked their first win over CSU in three meetings
- UNF and CSU will battle again on Dec. 15 at UNF Arena
- Sams became the fourth Osprey to reach the 20-point mark this season in a game
- North Florida handed out 17 assists and tallied seven blocks, led by 4 from Horchler
- Ospreys shot 47% from the field for the game and held CSU to 25% (6-24) from the three-point arc

LAST WORD
"When you have an older, more experience group like we have, sometimes you have to allow them the opportunity to work through some difficulties, troubles and vulnerabilities. As they work through it and see some success, one thing leads to another and it usually results in an improved effort defensively. Tonight we defended as well as we've defended all season and it was on the road. We played three games in five days with short turnarounds and finished up against a pressing team. Twenty-five turnovers isn't good but for us to have the resiliency to withstand and have the ability to endure through suffering makes me very proud of our guys character. " -- Head coach Matthew Driscoll

NEXT UP
The Ospreys will have a week off from competition for fall semester exams and return to action Dec. 11 on the road at Minnesota.