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University of North Florida Athletics

Basketball seniors Osborn Blount and Chase Driscoll pose with their families before their final home game
75
NJIT NJIT 13-15 | 6-7 ASUN
86
Winner North Florida UNF 13-17 | 7-6 ASUN
NJIT NJIT
13-15 | 6-7 ASUN
75
Final
86
North Florida UNF
13-17 | 7-6 ASUN
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
NJIT NJIT 39 36 75
North Florida UNF 39 47 86

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

Senior Osborn Blount Nets Career High in Osprey Victory over NJIT


OPENING TIP
Score: North Florida 86, NJIT 75
Records: North Florida (13-17, 7-6 ASUN) | NJIT (13-15, 6-7 ASUN)
Location: UNF Arena (Jacksonville, Fla.)
The Short Story: The North Florida men's basketball team closed out the home portion of their regular season schedule with an 86-75 victory over NJIT on Saturday night. Ivan Gandia-Rosa scored 23 points while senior Osborn Blount netted a career high 17 in his home finale.

GAMEDAY MEDIA CENTER
Final Boxscore PDF | Full Game Book

NOTABLE NUMBERS
- Ivan Gandia Rosa led the Ospreys with 23 points, his 5th 20+ point game of the year 
- Osborn Blount saved his best for last scoring a career best 17 points with a career high 4 3PM and 4 rebounds in his home finale
- Garrett Sams (15 pts) and Noah Horchler (11 pts) also reached double digits on the night
- Ospreys shot 50.9% from the floor and made 10 treys
- NJIT got 20-point outings from both Abdul Lewis and Anthony Tarke | The duo also grabbed double figure rebound totals to tally double-doubles in the loss

HOW IT HAPPENED
First Half Notes
- NJIT grabbed the early momentum after building an 11-6 lead over the opening four minutes of play
- Trailing 19-18, UNF outscored the Highlanders 12-2 over a four minute stretch midway through the period, building a 30-21 advantage (7:06 left)
- Ryan Burkhardt and Gandia-Rosa both drilled treys as part of the scoring surge
- The Highlanders answered with a 7-0 spurt and trimmed the Osprey lead to 32-30 | Donovan Greer hit back-to-back triples for NJIT to cap the run
- Another Gandia-Rosa 3PM would push UNF ahead by five before NJIT closed the half on a 7-2 run to force a 39-39 tie at the break
- NJIT scored 13 second chance points to keep things close in the opening stanza  

Second Half Notes
- The Ospreys blitzed out of intermission scoring the first 12 points and earning their first double figure lead of the night | Garrett Sams hit a three to start the run followed by a jumper from Gandia-Rosa, a Sams' layup, another Gandia-Rosa jumper and a trey by JT Escobar to conclude the scoring barrage
- UNF maintained a near double-digit lead for the next several minutes but the Highlander refused to fold and used a 7-point surge to close the deficit to 67-62 with 8:14 left to play
- North Florida would extend the lead back to double digits after a huge Horchler triple and free throws from Blount
- NJIT attempted a late rally but the Ospreys were able to convert free throws down the stretch to secure the victory

INSIDE THE BOXSCORE
- Ospreys earned the season split with the Highlanders and remain undefeated in UNF Arena in the series (3-0)
- Win upped UNF's record to 10-2 at home and marked the 4th straight season with double digit victories at UNF Arena
- #BirdsofTrey had 10 3PM, which marks the 18th double-digit performance from beyond the arc of the year

LAST WORD
"The resiliency of this group and their ability to fight through some scenarios that they faced tonight is pretty impressive. We got up a couple times and they came back and at half time they had hurt us with second chance points and points off turnovers. In the first half they crushed us on the glass but we were able to outrebound them in the second half. We didn't play great in the first half but the best thing we told the guys was that we were still tied. In the second half, we came out and punched them in the mouth and just played really, really well. They came back a little but we just continued to do what we needed to do. We made some really bad decisions at some key times and that's something that a team 30 games into the season can't be doing There is no such thing as inexperienced anymore so we have to be able to clean that up. I think David Jeune probably had the best senior night for any guy we've had, but his double-double came in a game with not much consequence. This guy was big-time in placement and seeding and there was a lot on this game so for Osborn to do what he did scoring 17 and making 4 threes is just incredible. Sometimes on senior night you worry about where those guys heads are but he came out really focused and I couldn't be more proud of him. Thursday night against JU, the winner gets third place. All we ever focus on is the next game and JU is the next game. We told the guys the last few weeks that our destiny is in our own hands. We're not worried about anybody else, we just need to take care of our business and we can still get to where we want to get to. These guys have believed that." -- Head coach Matthew Driscoll

NEXT UP
North Florida closes the regular season on Thursday with the River City Rumble rematch against crosstown rival Jacksonville at Swisher Gym. The Ospreys and Dolphins are currently tied for third in the ASUN standings and the winner on Thursday earn the No. 3 seed for the upcoming ASUN Championship Tournament.

 
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