Balanced Effort Nabs Win for Ospreys at North Alabama

Saturday, January 4

Florence, Ala.

4:30 p.m.

University of North Florida

9-8, 2-0ASUN

North Alabama

6-9, 1-1ASUN

North Florida

North Alabama

Wajid Aminu makes a move toward the basket

1/4/2020 7:17:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

By: North Florida Athletics

OPENING TIP
Score: North Florida 81, North Alabama 65
Records: North Florida (9-8, 2-0 ASUN) | North Alabama (6-9, 1-1 ASUN)
Location: Flowers Hall (Florence, Ala.)
The Short Story: North Florida had four players in double figures and held North Alabama to 36 percent from the floor en route to an 81-65 ASUN road victory on Saturday.

GAMEDAY MEDIA CENTER
Final Boxscore

STAT LEADERS
- Senior Garrett Sams netted a team best 18 points in the victory including four three-pointers
- Fellow seniors JT Escobar (17 pts) and Wajid Aminu (16 pts) also tallied double-digits
- Sophomore Carter Hendricksen rounded out the group of double figure scorers, tallying 15 points to go along with his 13 rebounds, earning his fifth double-double of the season
- Aminu swatted five shots in the win
- North Alabama had a pair of double digit performers led by 17 for Christian Agnew
- Ospreys finished with 13 treys and shot 46% from beyond the arc
- Squads both ended the game with 36 rebounds

NOTABLE MOMENTS
- Ospreys grabbed the early 11-4 advantage highlighted by back-to-back triples from Garrett Sams to cap the run
- Carter Hendricksen and Ryan Burkhardt knocked in threes to double up the Lions, 22-11, with 12:33 remaining in the first half
- North Florida would slip into a five minute scoring drought but turned things up defensively and surrendered just three points to North Alabama in the span
- JT Escobar ended the drought with two straight three-pointers
- UNA answered with a 9-2 spurt to pull within 7 at 32-25 at the 3:34 mark
- UNF wouldn't allow another field goal by the Lions the rest of the period and carried a 37-29 lead at the break
- Out of the break, Sams made a pair of threes in a 14-6 opening run by the Ospreys to grow the lead to 51-35
- North Florida maintained a double-digit margin the rest of the game, extending it to as many as 20 on a couple occasions

INSIDE THE BOXSCORE
- North Florida upped its nation-leading 3PM total to 211 for the season and notched their 14th game with 10+ treys
- UNF remained undefeated all-time against UNA (4-0) and handed the Lions their first home loss of the year
- Ospreys closed their seven game road trek with a 3-4 mark highlighted by their weekend road sweep over Kennesaw State and North Alabama

LAST WORD
"The first thing that needs to be mentioned is that 11 of our last 12 games have been on the road. Then add into that, we opened ASUN conference play with a pair of road games at the most critical time of the year. It is really a credit to not only our players but also our staff for being able to get two victories and the way in which we got them. The staff did an amazing job of making sure our guys were doing the right things in the right places, while keeping everybody healthy and able to function efficiently. I'm really proud of how the guys persevered and handled the pressure of playing teams with guards that wanted to attack the basket and get down hill. We shared the sugar extremely well and rebounded in key possessions down the stretch that enabled us to separate the game. We also made a couple dagger threes which has been a focus for us in game preparation. I'm extremely proud of this group for starting the ASUN schedule with two road wins and looking forward to getting back to the 'Nest' on Thursday night. " -- Head coach Matthew Driscoll

NEXT UP
North Florida makes its 2020 and ASUN home debut on Thursday (Jan. 9) against rival FGCU at 7 p.m.