OPENING TIP
Score: Tennessee State 81, North Florida 73
Records: North Florida (5-4) | Tennessee State (5-3)
Location: Orleans Arena (Las Vegas, Nev.)
The Short Story: North Florida reached the championship game of the Continental Tires Las Vegas Invitational for the second time in program history but were unable to claim a second trophy as Tennessee State outlasted a gritty rally by the Ospreys in an 81-73 contest on Friday afternoon.

GAMEDAY MEDIA CENTER
Final Boxscore

NOTABLE NUMBERS
- Carter Hendricksen and Ivan Gandia-Rosa both netted 22 points for the Ospreys
- Garrett Sams also reached double digits, finishing with 16 points
- Dorian James led the squad in rebounding with seven boards while Gandia-Rosa just missed a double-double after dishing out nine assists
- Ospreys connected on 10 three-pointers
- Tenneseee State had four players in double figures including a trio of players with 13
- Tigers shot 54% from the floor for the game while the Ospreys finished at 39%
- TSU held a 40-6 advantage in bench points

HOW IT HAPPENED
First Half Notes
- In a turn of the script, North Florida raced out of the gates scoring six straight points and 9 of the first 12 for the early 9-3 lead
- Tennessee State responded with a 16-0 run as UNF went scoreless for over five minutes of play
- Hendricksen's first of four treys halted the TSU scoring surge
- Ospreys continued to chip away at the deficit and eventually pulled within two, 30-28, capped by eight consecutive points from Hendricksen including back-to-back threes
- From that point, North Florida would not make another field goal over the closing four minutes of the half as the Tigers closed on an 8-2 spurt for a 38-30 halfitme lead

Second Half Notes
- TSU maintained their lead in the second half, expanding it to as much as 16 (59-43) with 13:12 remaining in the contest
- Ivan Gandia-Rosa sparked a charge by the Ospreys opening a 14-2 run with three free throws | Ezekiel Balogun had a basket in the surge along with baskets from Hendricksen and Wajid Aminu as well as five additional points from Gandia-Rosa
- The rally pulled UNF to within four points with just under 8 minutes left to play
- Tennessee State would then go almost six minutes without a field goal but were able to keep an advantage on the Ospreys by making eight free throws
- Hendricksen's final trey with 0:59 showing on the clock trimmed the margin to four (74-70) but North Florida could get no closer as Tennessee State made enough plays in the closing seconds to secure the win

INSIDE THE BOXSCORE
- North Florida upped its nation-leading 3PM total to 110 for the season
- Ezekiel Balogun accounted for all six of the Osprey's bench points in the game | Only five players scored for UNF in the game
- Hendricksen bettered his career high scoring total for the second straight game | Topped 20-point mark for the third time this season
- Gandia-Rosa handed out a season high for assists


LAST WORD
"Give Tennessee State credit. We punched them in the mouth early and they responded well. On the flipside, to our guys credit we responded back to their run. We never gave up even though we got down 16 at one point. We fought our way back to a four-point game and continued to work to get stops and different looks. However, we didn't execute down the stretch the way we are capable of doing. Really hurt ourselves with some late shot clock fouls that bailed them out in certain situations which prevented us from continuing to get the stops we needed. We have to continue to grow through and with all these situations. Fortunately, we get to rinse this one out quickly because we are back on the floor Monday at home against High Point." -- Head coach Matthew Driscoll


NEXT UP
North Florida returns to Jacksonville for its lone remaining home game of the 2019 calendar, as the Ospreys welcome High Point on Monday (Dec. 2) at 7 p.m. in UNF Arena.