OPENING TIP
Score: North Florida 78, Stetson 65
Records: North Florida (13-10, 6-2 ASUN) | Stetson (11-12, 5-3 ASUN)
Location: UNF Arena (Jacksonville, Fla.)
The Short Story: In a battle of ASUN Conference co-leaders, North Florida downed Stetson 78-65 behind a balanced attack, steady defense and 15-three pointers Thursday night in UNF Arena.

GAMEDAY MEDIA CENTER
Final Boxscore

BY THE NUMBERS
- Garrett Sams matched a season high with 24 points including a career-high matching 6 three-pointers | Also finished with six rebounds, four assists, two steals and a blocked shot
- Wajid Aminu chipped in a double-double (11 pts/10 rebs) and Carter Hendricksen added 13 points
- Ospreys netted 21 assists on 30 baskets led by Ivan Gandia-Rosa's eight helpers
- Josh Endicott tallied eight points in 10 minutes off the bench for the Ospreys
- Rob Perry led the Hatters with a double-double (14 pts/ 12 rebs)
- Stetson outrebounded North Florida, 43-35, but the Ospreys forced 10 SU turnovers

NOTABLE MOMENTS
- Despite missing their first five shots of the game, a stingy defense allowed the Ospreys to build an early 13-5 lead bolstered by an 8-0 spurt that included Garrett Sam's first of six three-pointers
- The Hatters rattled off the next six points to trim the margin but UNF answered with a 12-2 run for a 25-13 score | Wajid Aminu had a pair of buckets in the run along with threes from Ivan Gandia-Rosa and Carter Hendricksen
- Stetson again battled back behind seven consecutive points
- Another scoring spurt by the Ospreys (13-4) highlighted by eight points for Sams pushed the lead to 38-24 with 2:23 left in the period
- SU closed the half on an 8-0 run to pull within six, 38-32, at the halftime buzzer
- Sams led all scorers with 13 points at intermission | Stetson hung in the game behind 11 offensive rebounds and 12 second chance points
- The Hatters continued their scoring run out of the break, netting the first four points in the second half to close the deficit to just two (38-36) after one minute of action
- A driving layup by Sams halted the Stetson run and sparked a 12-3 surge by the Ospreys | Aminu collected a pair of dunks in the scoring spree that also featured two treys for Sams and a Hendricksen layup
- Stetson refused to fold, rallying with a 9-2 run and eventually getting as close as three (58-55) at the 9:24 mark
- Hendricksen netted back-to-back baskets followed by three straight baskets from Josh Endicott and then back-to-back-to-back treys for Sams, JT Escobar and Hendricksen closed a 20-4 run that put the game away for the Ospreys
- The Hatters would make the final score closer after scoring the final six points of the game
 
INSIDE THE BOXSCORE
- North Florida upped its nation-leading 3PM total to 278 for the season and posted its 18th contest with 10+ 3PM | 15 treys marked the second most for Ospreys in an ASUN game this season
- Win marked sixth straight for UNF against the Hatters
- 21 assists marked the most in an ASUN game for North Florida this season and third highest total of the year
- UNF was 3 of 4 from the FT line in the game, marking fewest FTs made and attempted this season
- Ospreys finished the first half of the ASUN schedule at 6-2 and share the conference lead with Liberty

LAST WORD
"Nobody likes to lose and our guys have been nothing more than resilient this season. It comes in all different ways and all of our guys have demonstrated it. One guy that has shown resiliency has been Josh (Endicott). His energy has never failed him, he always comes to practice, he always has that great smile and he understands what we've asked of him and what he needs to do. It was a no brainer to put him on the floor tonight and I thought his energy, effort, length and to do things a little differently really gave us a lift. The thing I love the most is that he didn't play outside himself. Super proud of Josh and super proud of our team. We are where we are supposed to be. We are in first place. This is what we are supposed to do and where we are supposed to be. However, it is up to us to continue improving as we go through the second half of the conference season beginning Saturday against Kennesaw State. That takes a whole, completely different effort. February starts the 'DAWG' days - Discipline & Attitude Win Games. That's how teams separate themselves in the second half because seeding is the most critical thing in this conference. " -- Head coach Matthew Driscoll

NEXT UP
North Florida looks for the home stand sweep Saturday when the Ospreys tip off the second half of the ASUN ledger with a rematch against Kennesaw State at 5 p.m. in UNF Arena