OPENING TIP
Score: North Florida 72. Southern Miss 69
Records: North Florida (7-5) | Southern MIss (3-8)
Location: Reed Green Coliseum (Hattiesburg, Miss.)
The Short Story:  North Florida basketball got a fast start and then used a strong final surge to secure its first road win of the season with a 72-69 decision at Southern Miss on Saturday afternoon.

GAMEDAY MEDIA CENTER
Final Boxscore

NOTABLE NUMBERS
- All five starters reached double digits led by 16 points for Ivan Gandia-Rosa
- 14 points each for seniors Garrett Sams and JT Escobar
- Wajid Aminu and Carter Hendricksen each chipped in 13 points
- Hendricksen hauled down 10 boards for his fourth double-double of the season and second in a row
- Tyler Stevenson finished with 27 to lead a trio of USM players in double figures
- North Florida netted 15 three-pointers including nine in the second half
- Ospreys collected 18 assists on 24 baskets

HOW IT HAPPENED
First Half Notes
- North Florida raced out to an early 13-2 lead and never trailed in the opening 20 minutes of action
- Ospreys connected on a trio of three-pointers in the opening run
- A putback by Wajid Aminu midway through the frame gave UNF it's largest lead of 12 (21-9)
- The Golden Eagles began to cut into the margin behind a 9-2 run of their own
- UNF carried a 32-29 lead into intermission following a 6-2 closing spurt by Southern Miss
- Both teams shot under 40% from the floor in the period 
- North Florida made six threes while limiting USM to just one

Second Half Notes
- Southern Miss seized their first lead of the game after posting a 6-2 surge at the start of the second half
- After the squads traded baskets for several possessions, the Golden Eagles opened up a five-point margin, 41-36, with 15:23 left to play
- Ivan Gandia-Rosa hit a trey to jump start an 11-0 run for the Opsreys that also included a second triple for Gandia-Rosa and one by Carter Hendricksen along with FTs for Trip Day and Wajid Aminu | The run turned a five-point deficit to a six-point advantage
- USM answered with a 10-2 rally to retake the lead by one, 53-52
- With the Ospreys down 57-55, Garrett Sams and Gandia-Rosa combined for three straight treys as UNF regained the lead they would never relinquish
- The Golden Eagles closed to within three down the stretch but would get no closer

INSIDE THE BOXSCORE
- North Florida upped its nation-leading 3PM total to 148 for the season despite making a season low 7 for the game
- Win snapped an 0-4 start on the road this season for UNF | Halted a five game road losing skid
- Ospreys improved to 4-0 all-time against Southern Miss and earned the regular season series sweep of the Golden Eagles
- UNF got 67 points from their starters and five points off the bench
- North Florida has notched double figure 3PM in 10 of 12 contests this season
- Collected second win for Coach Matthew Driscoll on his birthday during his 11-year tenure
- 42 three-point attempts set a new Reed Green Coliseum record for 3PA (old record was 41)


LAST WORD
"Our guys had incredible fight in both halves of the game. Southern Miss was not going to quit, just like they didn't at our place a month ago. When you have the ability like we do to make plays, especially threes, it can seperate things and kind of put yourself into a good situation. We were able to get them to play a little faster and hurried and capitalized on that. I thought our guys really, really executed down the stretch. We are one of the top free throw shooting teams in the country and the best three-point shooting team and we showed that tonight. I'm really proud of the way we rebounded down the stretch. It wasn't picture perfect nor exactly what we wanted but to get a win on the road against a Conference USA squad is a huge day for us and  a big win. Now we have to turn our attention to Florida State." -- Head coach Matthew Driscoll

NEXT UP
North Florida continues its current road trip Tuesday at No. 21 Florida State