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University of North Florida Athletics

JT Escobar shoots a jumper over the hand of a defender
Todd Drexler
72
No. 5 North Florida UNF 14-19
95
Winner No. 1 FGCU FGCU 23-10
No. 5 North Florida UNF
14-19
72
Final
95
No. 1 FGCU FGCU
23-10
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
No. 5 North Florida UNF 44 28 72
No. 1 FGCU FGCU 55 40 95

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

Men's Basketball Falls to Hot-Shooting FGCU in ASUN Semifinals


OPENING TIP
Score: #5 North Florida 72, #1 FGCU 95
Records: North Florida (14-19) | FGCU (23-10)
Location: Alico Arena (Fort Myers, Fla.)
The Short Story: The North Florida men's basketball team ran into a hot-shooting FGCU 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
- FGCU 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
- FGCU 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, FGCU 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
  
Second Half Notes
- North Florida trimmed their deficit to 8 points in the opening minutes of the second period
- FGCU seized control of the game using a 17-4 run to push the margin to over 20 points 
- 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 FGCU 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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Players Mentioned

Wajid Aminu

#2 Wajid Aminu

F
6' 7"
Sophomore
International Business
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

Wajid Aminu

#2 Wajid Aminu

6' 7"
Sophomore
International Business
F
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