SEATTLE - North Florida men's basketball (0-2) had the University of Washington on the ropes, leading for the majority of the game, but the host Huskies (2-0) pulled away in the final minutes as the Ospreys narrowly missed a Pac-12 upset in a 75-67 loss Friday, Nov. 11 in the Emerald City.
UNF possessed a 34-28 lead at the intermission, holding the Huskies to just 25.6 percent shooting in the opening frame. But, UW hung around and posted a key 9-0 run late in the second half to overturn UNF's lead.
The game saw nine tie scores and nine lead changes, with UNF leading by as many as six points and Washington by as much as eight. All-told, UNF was in the lead for over 20 minutes.
Four Ospreys tallied double-digit scoring nights, with
Jarius Hicklen pacing all UNF scorers with 19 points in almost 37 minutes played.
Carter Hendricksen was a rebound short of a double-double, while
Jonathan Aybar was extremely efficient, scoring 12 points in under 15 minutes.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
1st Half
- UNF scored the first bucket on a Jadyn Parker lay-in, but UW went on a 7-0 run … UNF replied with a 10-0 run after holding UW scoreless for over five minutes, taking a 14-10 lead … UW got a quick 12 points from Keyon Menifield, taking a 21-16 lead as UNF called a timeout with under eight minutes to go … Oscar Berry drilled a three-pointer in the corner and Aybar stayed hot early, putting in a layup to even things, 21-21 … Hicklen found his groove, posting nine quick points thanks to two three-pointers and three free throws, putting UNF up, 32-26 … the Ospreys took a 34-28 lead into the break, holding UW to just 25.6 from the floor.
2nd Half
- Parker got UNF going out of the half as the Ospreys traded buckets early with UW … Chaz Lanier got tough, brought down an offensive rebound and made a pair of free throws to slow down the Huskies … UW rattled off some transition buckets, making seven of eight field goals to even things, 42-42, as the Ospreys took a timeout with 15:23 to go … but, Hicklen took matters into his own hands, slashing to the hoop for a lay-in before knocking home a walk-in three-pointer for a 47-42 lead … the Huskies converted three-straight free throws to get even at 49-49 after the under 12 media timeout … the Huskies finally gained a brief lead at 56-54 following a Menifield three-pointer at the 7:19 mark … UNF and UW traded three-pointers, one of which came from Hendricksen, as UNF took a 59-58 lead … UW went on a 9-0 run to take a 69-61 lead, getting a few putback dunks … when it was needed most, Jose Placer drilled a three-pointer to get within 69-64 … after UW struggled at the line for the third-straight attempt, Hicklen made the Huskies pay with a trey off the screen, cutting the deficit to 69-67 … UW's Menifield made another bucket to expand the lead back to four for the Huskies … no more shots fell as UW hit enough free throws late to hold off the Ospreys.
BY THE NUMBERS
UNF
WASHINGTON
- Keyon Menifield | 21 points, 3 assists
- PJ Fuller II | 7 points, 7 assists, 5 rebounds
- Cole Bajema | 11 rebounds, 7 points
- Franck Kepnang | 16 points, 10 rebounds
NOTABLES
- This was the first-ever meeting between the two teams.
- It was the third Pac-12 foe UNF has taken on in two seasons. The Ospreys have played UCLA, ASU and Washington.
- UNF and UW each had one large scoring run, with UW going on a 9-0 run late in the second half and UNF a 10-0 clip midway through the first half.
- UNF shot a similar mark from the floor in the first and second half, although the Huskies upped their shooting percentage 22 percent from the first to the second frame.
- North Florida committed 18 fouls, with UW tallying 17.
- UNF scored 15 more points than UW via the three-point shot.
- Hendricksen posted the 61st double-digit scoring game of his career.
- North Florida had never played a game in the state of Washington prior to this past week.
- The game saw only six steals.
COACH DRISCOLL POSTGAME
UP NEXT
UNF plays its home opener and first-ever match on the newly completed CSI Companies Court Saturday, Nov. 19 at 5 p.m.
