OPENING TIP
Score: Liberty 82, North Florida 77
Records: North Florida (18-11, 11-3 ASUN) | Liberty (24-4, 11-2 ASUN)
Location: Vines Center (Lynchburg, Va.)
The Short Story: For the first time in the month of February, North Florida men's basketball found themselves on the down side of the scoreboard as Liberty survived a late Osprey charge for the 82-77 decision Thursday night at the Vines Center in a battle of the ASUN's top two teams.

GAMEDAY MEDIA CENTER
Final Boxscore

BY THE NUMBERS
- JT Escobar made 6 three-pointers on his way to a season best 26 point effort to pace the Ospreys
- Ivan Gandia-Rosa netted 17 points (4 3PM) and just missed a double-double after collecting 9 assists
- Wajid Aminu and Carter Hendricksen each finished with 10 points and team best six rebounds
- Liberty had three players in double figures led by 28 from Caleb Homesley including 11 FTM | Scottie James added a double-double with 16 pts/10 rebs
- Flames shot 56% from the floor for the game while UNF was at 47%
- Ospreys recorded 17 three-pointers while limiting Liberty to just four for the night
- LU held a 33-6 advantage in free throw attempts while the squads were tied 29-29 in rebounds

NOTABLE MOMENTS
- The Flames built an early 10-5 lead before Ivan Gandia-Rosa (2 3PM) and Wajid Aminu (4 pts) led UNF on a 10-4 run to grab the lead 18-16
- Liberty answered with eight straight points to regain a lead they would never relinquish
- North Florida would fall behind by as many as 10 points in the first half as the Flames shot 62% from the field
- JT Escobar closed the period with a pair of threes as UNF trailed 40-31 at the break
- Early in the second half, LU widened their margin to 48-36 with an 8-3 surge that included 6 free throws
- The squads would go several minutes trading baskets as the margin hovered around double digits in Liberty's favor
- Josh Endicott and Escobar connected on back-to-back treys with just over 5 minutes remaining to trim the margin to five (67-62)
- Liberty would expand the deficit back to 10 (77-67) with 1:45 left following four consecutive free throws by Homesley
- Escobar made a lay-up, Carter Hendricksen drilled a three and Gandia-Rosa converted a lay-up in a 6-0 spurt by the Ospreys to pull within 3 at 77-74
- Two more free throws by Liberty pushed the lead to five before Ryan Burkhardt nailed a triple to make the margin 2 (79-77) with 0:27 left
- Trailing by three, North Florida had a chance to tie the game but a late shot rimmed out and Liberty made a pair of free throws to secure the win 
 
INSIDE THE BOXSCORE
- North Florida upped its nation-leading 3PM total to 342 for the season getting 3PM from six different players | UNF has 22 games with 10+ treys made
- Loss snapped the Ospreys season-best six game win streak | Liberty remained undefeated at home this year at 13-0
- UNF-Liberty series continued its trend with the home team earning the win | All 5 meetings between the pair have been decided by single digits
- Over the final 10 minutes, Liberty made just two field goals while converting 17 FTs | Flames attempted more FTs (31) in the second half than the Ospreys attempted FGs (28)
- Ospreys suffered just second road loss in ASUN play this season

LAST WORD
"What a great fight by our guys. Proud of the way they battled until the end of the game. In the first half, they scored on 11 of their first 13 possessions and that can come back to haunt you. Our guys never quit and our guys don't quit. We have a group of experienced guys that understand especially on the road how to work and give yourself a chance with the ball and down three late. We executed well down the stretch. Now we regroup quickly, get on our early morning flight, get back and get prepared for Saturday's game against Lipscomb." -- Head coach Matthew Driscoll

NEXT UP
North Florida returns to Jacksonville for the final regular season home game of the season Saturday at 5 p.m. against Lipscomb. Osprey senior class will be honored in a pregame ceremony.