OPENING TIP
Score: NJIT 78, North Florida 66
Records: North Florida (10-9, 3-1 ASUN) | NJIT (4-12, 1-2 ASUN)
Location: UNF Arena (Jacksonville, Fla.)
The Short Story: Plagued by costly turnovers, North Florida suffered its first ASUN Conference and home loss of the season on Saturday night against a determined and hot-shooting NJIT squad.

GAMEDAY MEDIA CENTER
Final Boxscore

BY THE NUMBERS
- Wajid Aminu scored a season best 20 points to lead the Ospreys | Aminu also pulled down seven rebounds and blocked a pair of shots
- Ivan Gandia-Rosa and Garrett Sams joined Aminu in double figures, finishing with 11 points each | Sams paced the squad with 8 boards while Gandia-Rosa topped the team with six assists
- NJIT got a combined 58 points from San Antonio Brinson (37 pts) and Shyquan Gibbs (21 pts)
- Highlanders shot 58.8% from the floor for the game

NOTABLE MOMENTS
-Squads went back-and-forth over the opening minutes of the game
-JT Escobar nailed a three-pointer with 13:48 left in the first half, giving the Ospreys their last lead, 16-14
- Highlanders used an 11-2 surge over the five minutes to seize the momemtum
- North Florida responded with an 8-4 spurt but were outscored 8-2 over the final 4:30 of the half
- NJIT led 37-28 at intermission and benefitted from 16 points off of 10 UNF turnovers
- Highlanders opened the second half with four quick points extending the margin back to double figures
- The game settled into an exchange of scores for several minutes with North Florida unable to pull closer
- Trailing 61-43 with 10 minutes left to play, the Ospreys turned up things on the defensive end producing an 11-2 run that cut the deficit to nine (63-54) with just over five minutes remaining
- North Florida could get no closer as NJIT was able to make key baskets and free throws down the stretch to secure their first ASUN win of the season
 
INSIDE THE BOXSCORE
- North Florida upped its nation-leading 3PM total to 233 for the season, but were held to a season low six treys
- Road team has now won in the last four meetings between UNF and NJIT
- Loss snapped a 10-game home win streak for the Ospreys
- Brinson's 37 point effort marked the most by a North Florida opponent this season


LAST WORD
"Congratulations to NJIT. Give them credit for how they played from the tip to the final buzzer. I thought their guys appeared to be way more excited to be on the floor. I thought their energy, effort and ability to turn us over especially early really set the tone and hurt us. Brinson and Gibbs deserve a lot of credit for making the big plays and shots that allowed them to come in here and dictate the game from start to finish. I will review the day and see where I failed these guys. I'm not sure why we weren't our normal selves but most of it is because NJIT decided that it was going to be their way and not our way." -- Head coach Matthew Driscoll

NEXT UP
The Ospreys head across town to face rival Jacksonville in the season's first edition of the River City Rumble Thursday night at Historic Swisher Gym.