Liberty Slips Past Ospreys, 70-64

Saturday, January 19

Lynchburg, Va.

7:00 p.m.

University of North Florida

Liberty

North Florida

Liberty

Photo Credit: Jessie Rogers

1/19/2019 10:44:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

By: North Florida Athletics

OPENING TIP
Score: North Florida 64, Liberty 70
Records: North Florida (9-11, 3-2 ASUN) | Liberty (16-4, 4-0 ASUN)
Location: Vines Center (Lynchburg, Va.)
The Short Story: A sluggish final five minutes proved the difference in a back-and-forth contest against ASUN newcomer Liberty on Saturday night with North Florida falling 70-64 on the road.

GAMEDAY MEDIA CENTER
Final Boxscore (PDF)

NOTABLE NUMBERS
- Ivan Gandia-Rosa finished with a team-high 19 points including 4 3PM along with handing out 4 assists
- Noah Horchler added 16 points and narrowly missed his 10th double-double after pulling down 9 rebounds
- JT Escobar had 9 points and Garrett Sams chipped in 8
- Scottie James scored 18 points to pace a trio of Liberty players in double digits
- North Florida outrebounded the Flames, 36-33, but committed 18 turnovers while only causing nine

HOW IT HAPPENED
First Half Notes
- North Florida controlled the opening portion of the first half, holding a lead for most of a 13-minute stretch
- Horchler sparked an early surge scoring 8 consecutive points helping UNF builds its largest lead of 8 points (19-11)
- The Flames used a 7-0 spurt to take a 26-24 advantage with 5:30 left in the period
- From their the squads traded baskets until JT Escobar hit his first trey of the night, sending the Ospreys into intermission with a 35-32 lead

Second Half Notes
- A 9-4 surge to start the second half allowed Liberty to erase UNF's halftime edge and retake the lead
- The lead seesawed over the next several minutes with the score eventually sitting tied 59-59 with 5:28 remaining in the contest
- Ospreys would slip into an offensive funk thru the next five minutes, missing six shots along with committing three turnovers, and allowing the Flames to extend the margin to eight points, 67-59
- Ivan Gandia-Rosa was fouled on a three-point attempt and made a pair of free throws to snap the drought
- Escobar drilled his second three-pointer in the closing seconds as Liberty held on for the victory

INSIDE THE BOXSCORE
- Ospreys came up short in their attempt for their first three-game win streak of the season
- Liberty remained undefeated at home moving to 9-0 while also evening the all-time series vs UNF at 1-1
- North Florida's 64-point output was the squad's lowest total in the month of January
- UNF defense limited the ASUN's top three-point shooting squad to 3 treys, 7 below their season average
- Starting five for North Florida accounted for 56 of the team's 64 points

LAST WORD
"When you play against teams at the top of the conference and are playing for positioning and in a real competition, the game comes down to a limited number of possessions. The littlest details make the greatest difference and I felt like their offensive putbacks and our inability to get and make shots in the final minutes was the difference. To our guys credit, they didn't quit but that also doesn't mean you win. We've got to find a way to be tougher down the stretch, making plays and doing the right things." -- Head coach Matthew Driscoll

NEXT UP
North Florida has a quick turnaround as the Ospreys welcome NJIT for a Monday clash in UNF Arena at 7 p.m.