Ospreys Struggle in Loss to Lipscomb

Wednesday, February 6

Jacksonville, Fla.

7:00 p.m.

University of North Florida

Lipscomb

North Florida

Photo by: Todd Drexler

2/6/2019 11:23:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

By: North Florida Athletics

OPENING TIP
Score: North Florida 55, Lipscomb 92
Records: North Florida (9-16, 3-7 ASUN) | Lipscomb (19-4, 10-0 ASUN)
Location: UNF Arena (Jacksonville, Fla.)
The Short Story: North Florida never found a flow on either end of the floor suffering a tough 92-55 loss to ASUN leader Lipscomb on Wednesday night in UNF Arena.

GAMEDAY MEDIA CENTER
Final Boxscore

NOTABLE NUMBERS
- Wajid Aminu was the lone Osprey in double figures, finishing with 15 points to go along with his six rebounds
- Noah Horchler led the squad with 8 rebounds and also had 7 points and two blocks
- Garrett Sams added 8 points and JT Escobar chipped in 7
- Garrison Mathews paced the Bisons with 22 points including 5 three-pointers
- Lipscomb led the statistics including a 48-27 advantage in rebounding that also resulted in a 25-3 margin in second chance points
- UNF struggled from the floor shooting just 33% while only connecting at a 28% clip from the three-point arc

HOW IT HAPPENED
First Half Notes
- Lipscomb came out hot from long distance to start the game as their first 15 points all came by way of three-pointers
- North Florida fell behind, 19-14 with 11 minutes remaining in the half
- An 11-0 spurt by the Bisons over the next five minutes pushed the lead to 30-14 before back-to-back trifectas from Ryan Burkhardt and Garrett Sams slowed the scoring spree for LU
- The Ospreys slipped into another scoring drought over the next four minutes as Lipscomb netted the next 15 points until Ivan Gandia-Rosa drilled a three-pointer at the buzzer making the halftime margin, 47-23

Second Half Notes
- LU opened the second half with seven consecutive points as North Florida's shooting woes continued out of intermission
- Sams scored four straight points and freshman Cam Copeland flushed down a thunderous dunk after a steal to seemingly spark the Ospreys
- Unfortunately, UNF again slipped into a scoreless stretch that saw Lipscomb score 16 straight points in a four minute span
- North Florida attempted to battle back using an 11-5 spurt that saw four different players score followed by another 11-5 surge over the closing minutes but it was not enough to eliminate the double-digit deficit

INSIDE THE BOXSCORE
- Loss snapped the Ospreys five-game home win streak against Lipscomb
- UNF has now lost six straight while Lipscomb claimed their 10th consecutive win
- Bisons have won last three meetings with North Florida
- Garrett Sams moved to within 14 points of becoming UNF's 14th member of the 1,000-Point Club

LAST WORD
"At the final timeout of the first half, we were down by 11 and we talked about trying to get the deficit down to a manageable number. To their credit, they put together a 15-3 run and I thought that changed the game and really created some separation. They came out in the second half and punched us early and we never responded. When you get outrebounded like we did including having them get 17 first half points off 7 offensive rebounds and also allow 15 points off turnovers, you end up playing from behind and make it very difficult to come back. Give them credit because they are who they are and they are as good as they are because of what they do and how they play. They remind me of some of those old Belmont teams that were two deep at every position which makes them really effective because nobody has to play a heavy load of minutes." -- Head coach Matthew Driscoll

NEXT UP
North Florida hits the road for a weekend visit at ASUN newcomer North Alabama on Saturday at 4:30 p.m. (ET)