Thursday, March 1
Fort Myers. Fla.
7:00 p.m.
University of North Florida
14-19
72
at
95
FGCU (Semifinals)
23-10
1
2
F
No. 5 North Florida
44
28
72
No. 1 FGCU
55
40
95
Team Stats
UNF
FGCU
FG%
.491
.549
3FG%
.385
.542
FT%
.667
.667
RB
31
34
TO
18
7
STL
5
11
Game Leaders
Pts
22
FGM
8
3FGM
6
FTM
0
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Pts
9
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's BasketballG/F
/ Men's Basketball
Photo by: Todd Drexler
Men's Basketball Falls to Hot-Shooting FGCU in ASUN Semifinals
3/1/2018 11:40:00 PM | Men's Basketball
OPENING TIP
Score:Â #5 North Florida 72, #1 FGCU 95
Records:Â North Florida (14-19) | FGCU (23-10)
Location: Alico Arena (Fort Myers, Fla.)
The Short Story:Â The North Florida men's basketball team ran into a hot-shooting FGCUÂ squad in Thursday's ASUN Tournament semifinal game. The Eagles made 13 of 24 three-pointers in earning the 95-72 victory at Alico Arena.
GAMEDAY MEDIA CENTER
Final Boxscore PDF | Full Game Book | Video Highlights
NOTABLE NUMBERS
- JT Escobar finished with a team-high 22 points highlighted by connecting on 6 of 10 treys
- Trip Day chipped in 12 points while Garrett Sams added 10 for the Ospreys
- Wajid Aminu and Noah Horchler each finished with 9 points
- FGCUÂ had five players in double digits led by 18 from Brandon Goodwin
- Eagles netted 42 points in the paint and also recorded 34 points off 18 UNF turnovers
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Half Notes
- Ospreys enjoyed a fast start to the game, racing out to a 13-4 lead through the first four minutes of play
- All five UNF starters notched points in the opening run
- FGCUÂ responded with a 12-2 run that saw the Eagles take their first lead of the night
- After the squads traded turns with the lead over the next several minutes of play, FGCUÂ mounted a 25-5 surge to break open a tied contest
- The Eagles capped off their momentum changing rally with five consecutive 3PM to take a 47-29 lead
- UNF continued battling and were able to close the half on a 15-8 run, cutting the halftime margin to 55-44
- FGCU was 8-for-10 from arc in the opening period and also forced 8 Osprey turnovers
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Second Half Notes
- North Florida trimmed their deficit to 8 points in the opening minutes of the second period
- FGCUÂ seized control of the game using a 17-4 run to push the margin to over 20 pointsÂ
- The lead hovered around that total for the remainder of the half as FGCU's strong shooting performance continued
INSIDE THE BOXSCORE
- Loss marked the third consecutive season that FGCUÂ has ended the Osprey's season
- Ivan Gandia-Rosa handed out five assists and matched UNF's single season assist record of 205 set by Dallas Moore
- UNF made 10 treys of their own marking the 20th game of the season that the Ospreys reached double digit triples
LAST WORD
"They were better than us tonight. I thought they made game winning plays and we didn't when we had opportunities too. Their experience really, really shined through tonight. I thought our guys played on their heels. We came out of the timeout when the game was tied 24-24 and they punched us pretty good. We recovered and cut it to 11 but to their credit they just kept coming. If they make threes like that, they are going to be very difficult to defend or beat. We came out in the second half with a little bit of fight, but again their experienced guys raised their level and that made all the difference. We can't guard the points we allowed off turnovers and with second chances. Gotta give them credit because they never stopped and kept coming at us. This group is blessed to have so much future ahead of us, it is similar to the group we had when Dallas Moore was a freshman, and that turned out pretty good for us. We just have to keep on getting better and moving forward" -- Head coach Matthew Driscoll
NEXT UP
The loss concludes the 2017-18 season for North Florida. The Ospreys return 10 of the 12 players from this year's squad including the team's top six scorers.
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