OPENING TIP
Score: North Florida 75, Jacksonville 68
Records: North Florida (11-9, 4-1 ASUN) | Jacksonville (8-11, 1-3 ASUN)
Location: Swisher Gym (Jacksonville, Fla.)
The Short Story: North Florida overcame a sluggish first half to build a double digit lead in the second half en route to downing rival Jacksonville, 75-68, Thursday night at Historic Swisher Gymnasium. The win marked the 200th victory for UNF head coach Matthew Driscoll in his career.

GAMEDAY MEDIA CENTER
Final Boxscore

BY THE NUMBERS
- Garrett Sams led the way for North Florida, finishing with a season high 24 points including 18 in the first half
- Carter Hendricksen (17 pts), Ivan Gandia-Rosa (13 pts) and Wajid Aminu (11 pts) also reached double digits for UNF
- Aminu topped the squad with nine rebounds while also swatting three shots
- Sams handed out a team leading five assists and added seven rebounds
- David Bell posted a double-double (21 pts/ 13 rebs) in the loss for the Dolphins
- Osprey defense held JU to 1 of 11 from the three-point line while making seven threes of their own
- North Florida went 18 of 21 from the FT line

NOTABLE MOMENTS
- North Florida got out of the blocks quickly outscoring Jacksonville, 8-3
- The Dolphins answered with a 13-2 run en route to earning their first lead of the game
- Both teams struggled finding an offensive flow as the two squads each shot under 40% from the floor in the period
- JU expanded its lead to six points on two occasions including a 23-17 advantage with five minutes left in the half
- Garrett Sams would score the next eight points including hitting the Osprey's first three-pointer of the game after an 0-of-9 start from the arc
- Sams' performance sparked a 14-2 surge that vaulted UNF to a six-point lead
- Jacksonville scored the final four points, setting the halftime margin at 31-29
- The two squads went back-and-forth over the opening minutes of the second half with neither team leading by more than three points
- North Florida slowly began to grow their lead and eventually broke things open with a 12-1 surge midway through the frame | UNF led 57-44 after the run
- The Ospreys maintained their double figure margin for most of the remainder of the game, but had to turn back a late Dolphin rally
 
INSIDE THE BOXSCORE
- North Florida upped its nation-leading 3PM total to 240 for the season, despite tallying single digit three-point total for the second straight game
- Head Coach Matthew Driscoll earned the 200th win of his career
- UNF remained undefeated on the road in ASUN play this season (3-0)
- Sams' scoring total marked the most points in a game by an Osprey player this season
- Team's missed their first 14 three-point attempts | JU made their first and only trey with 2:30 left to play in the game
- Ospreys have now won 11 of the last 14 vs Dolphins
- Victory upped the River City Rumble season score to 7-0


LAST WORD
"At halftime we talked about not turning it over and getting shots. They stepped up to the plate and got the lead where it should be. We didn't finish up as clean as we could have but I'm proud of our guys, couldn't be more proud of our fight and couldn't be more proud of what this means to us going forward."" -- Head coach Matthew Driscoll

NEXT UP
The Ospreys return home Thursday to host league leader Liberty at 7 p.m.