JACKSONVILLE, Ala. - North Florida men's basketball lived up to every bit of its #BirdsofTrey moniker Thursday night at Jacksonville State in a wire-to-wire win. The Ospreys (6-17, 2-7 ASUN) unleashed a barrage of three-pointers and played suffocating defense on one of the best shooting teams in the nation to bounce ASUN-leading Jacksonville State, 88-76, Feb. 3 at Jacksonville State.
UNF shot a scorching 48.6 percent from three, making 17-of-35 three-pointers taken while holding Jacksonville State (15-7, 8-1 ASUN) to just 3-for-19 from deep. The Gamecocks came into play with the third-best three-point field goal percentage in the nation, making over 10 three-pointers a game. UNF held JSU to 0-for-14 before the Gamecocks finally made a three-pointer.
The Ospreys' 17 three-pointers is the most three-pointers in a conference game since UNF put up 17 Feb. 20, 2020 at Liberty.
Carter Hendricksen scored a career-high 27 points, erasing his pre-existing career-high of 26 set just one game ago against Lipscomb.
Jose Placer wasn't far behind Hendricksen, scoring 25 points, 10 of which came in less than the first six minutes of the night. Over his last three games, Placer has put up two 24-point nights and today's 25-point outing. The guard is now averaging 14.9 points per game on the season and has made at least four three-pointers in each of his last four contests.
UNF hands Jacksonville State its first ASUN loss while erasing the Gamecocks' 10-game winning streak that dated back to a six-point loss to No. 6 Alabama Dec. 18. Additionally, JSU hadn't lost a home game since Dec. 4 against South Alabama.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
1st Half
- Carter Hendricksen hit a three-pointer right off the tip-off, Jose Placer went on a 5-0 run himself and UNF led 8-4 in the early going … Placer took it on himself to notch another 5-0 run, keying UNF to a 16-8 lead at the 14:14 mark under the first media timeout … thanks to some quick defensive hands and offensive rebounds, UNF got more open looks and converted four more, putting UNF ahead 24-14 at the next media timeout … Emmanuel Adedoyin made a pair during that stretch … Placer hit yet another three-pointer to bring UNF back to a 29-19 lead and another 10-point advantage … JSU got physical down low and went on a 6-0 run to get within 29-25 at the third media timeout … Jarius Hicklen converted a three-pointer out of the media timeout, giving UNF a seven-point lead … UNF continued to make stops and Hendricksen nailed his second three-pointer of the game, putting UNF up, 35-25 … JSU went on a 6-0 run to close the half … UNF shot 9-for-24 from beyond the arc while holding JSU to 0-for-12 in that same category … JSU outscored UNF 28-8 in the paint.
2nd Half
- Hendricksen scored eight points out of the half, giving UNF a 43-35 lead … JSU got a pair of buckets, but Dorian James got in on the action from deep to give UNF a 46-39 advantage … Jarius Hicklen hit a three-pointer and Jonathan Aybar followed with the successful three-point play on a dunk for UNF's largest lead of the game … the Ospreys led 54-42 at that point … Hendricksen wasn't done, hitting two more three-pointers, one of which was a bank shot from the wing, giving UNF a 60-44 lead at the media timeout … while UNF had the hot hand, JSU was held without a field goal for over four minutes … JSU didn't hit its first three-pointer until the 7:20 mark in the second half … the Ospreys held a double-digit lead the rest of the way, running away with it.
BY THE NUMBERS
UNF
JSU
- Brandon Huffman | 19 points, 9-for-12 FGs
- Kayne Henry | 8 rebounds, 6 points, 4 assists, 2 blocks
- Darian Adams | 16 points, 7 rebounds, 1 steal
COACH DRISCOLL'S COMMENTS
NOTABLES
- This was the first meeting between UNF and Jacksonville State as ASUN foes.
- UNF has only played one contest against Jacksonville State in series history, a five-point win for JSU in Cancun.
- Jacksonville State came in shooting the third-best three-point field goal percentage in the nation.
- JSU's last game saw it break Liberty's 45-game home winning streak.
- UNF was 6-for-12 from deep through the first eight minutes of play, while JSU was 0-for-5 from three.
- JSU scored 28 of its 31 points in the first half from the paint.
- UNF held the lead for 19 minutes and 10 seconds of the first half.
- Hendricken surpassed 1,100-career points.
- North Florida earned its first win on the road this season.
- UNF's 17 three-pointers is its most in an ASUN game since February of 2020.
- The Ospreys are 1-1 all-time against Jacksonville State.
- The last time Hendricksen made six three-pointers was Feb. 12, 2021 at Liberty.
- Head Coach Matthew Driscoll is two wins shy of 200 for his career at UNF.
- The Ospreys led for 39 minutes and 57 seconds of Thursday's game.
- Jacksonville State outscored UNF, 55-20, in the paint.
- The Ospreys went 13-for-15 from the line.
NEXT UP
UNF stays in the state of Alabama to face North Alabama Saturday, Feb. 5.
