JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - With less than two seconds on the clock,
Jose Placer pulled up from over 30 feet to drain the game-winning three-pointer and his 10th trey of the night in UNF men's basketball's (7-8, 2-1 ASUN) dramatic 89-86 win against Kennesaw State (10-6, 2-1 ASUN) Thursday, Jan. 5.
Placer's 10 three-pointers is good for the second most in a single game in UNF history, just one short of UNF Hall of Famer Parker Smith's 11 treys Feb. 20, 2012 against Mercer. It was also the most since teammate
Jarius Hicklen posted eight three-pointers in a win against Liberty Feb. 15, 2022. The Ospreys won their eighth-straight game at home and knocked off a Kennesaw State team that was 2-0 in the league.
While it was Placer's game-winning three-pointer that stole the show, his go-ahead three-pointer from the corner as the shot clock expired gave the Ospreys an 86-84 lead with 27 seconds to go. KSU tied things up before Placer hit the game-winning trey with 1.7 seconds left.
FINAL SCORE
KENNESAW STATE | 86
NORTH FLORIDA | 89
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
1st Half
- Placer's night started off strong as he hit a pair of three-pointers before the first media timeout, giving the Ospreys an 11-5 lead at the first media timeout … Chaz Lanier threw down a monstrous dunk and Jah Nze converted on a layup, getting set up by Jonathan Aybar on both occasions … the Ospreys held the 20-15 lead at the second media timeout, with Chris Youngblood keeping the Owls close thanks to two three-pointers … KSU took its first lead since leading 5-3 when Brandon Stroud hit a trey to give the Ospreys a 26-24 advantage at the 9:06 in the first … Placer got going again when Carter Hendricksen made a skip pass to the corner, bringing UNF to within 27-28 … KSU expanded its lead to 40-32 at the four minute mark, although UNF responded with a 10-2 run to cut the deficit to 45-43 at the break.
2nd Half
- The second half followed the narrative seen in the first and also in the first two games of league play, with UNF and KSU trading blows and exchanging leads … KSU got the better start, going on a 9-3 run before the first media timeout of the second session … Jarius Hicklen got going with a nice layup, Lanier threw down another dunk and Jonathan Aybar converted on a hookshot as the Ospreys got within one at the second media timeout … Carter Hendricksen played solid defense in the second half and got a steal that setup a Jarius Hicklen three-pointer, sending the game to a 65-65 tie … North Florida expanded its lead to 79-72 with four minutes and 20 seconds on the clock, but KSU chipped away and eventually took an 84-83 lead on a Demond Robinson jumper with 53 seconds left … Placer kept his storybook night going by hitting the go-ahead trey with 27 seconds left … Robinson tied it up 15 seconds later, but Placer walked down the court and hit the game-winner from nearly 35 feet.
BY THE NUMBERS
NORTH FLORIDA
KENNESAW STATE
- Chris Youngblood | 18 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists
- Brandon Stroud | 13 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists
- Terrell Burden | 13 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists
NOTABLES
- UNF is 30-21 all-time against Kennesaw State
- Jose Placer's 32 points was three short of his career high and the most by an Ospreys' player this season
- Placer's 10 three-pointers was the second most in UNF single game history, behind only Parker Smith. Placer is only the second in program history to reach double-digit three-pointers in a game
- UNF is 3-0 at home this season when trailing at the half. The Ospreys have defeated SC State, Austin Peay and Kennesaw State in such games
- North Florida has won eight-straight games at home when taking into account last February's wins against FGCU and Liberty
- UNF held KSU without a free throw attempt in the first half
- Jadyn Parker added three blocks, reaching 82 for his career
- North Florida shot 53.6 percent from beyond the arc, going 15-for-28. That mark is tied for tenth in UNF single game history. North Florida shot that exact mark, going 15-for-28 against Georgia Southern Nov. 11, 2018
Postgame Comments
UP NEXT
UNF finishes up a stretch of four games in eight days Saturday night at FGCU. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.
