JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - North Florida men's basketball entered Wednesday night's game needing a win or a Jacksonville loss to secure a bid to the ASUN Championship Tournament. When the dust settled around 9 p.m., the Ospreys (13-16, 8-9 ASUN) had secured both, taking care of what they could control with a comprehensive, 77-64, win against a very versatile and dangerous Eastern Kentucky (18-12, 11-6 ASUN) team Wednesday, Feb. 22.

North Florida drained eight three-pointers in the first and followed up the next 20 minutes by preventing a solid shooting Colonels team from making a single trey in the second session. North Florida had one of its most balanced offensive nights of the season, getting double-digit scoring efforts from five different Ospreys, paced by Jarius Hicklen's 16 points and career-best nine assists. 

With the results Wednesday, UNF guarantees either the eighth or seventh seed in the tournament. North Florida and Bellarmine will battle it out for the seventh seed in Friday night's game. 

FINAL SCORE
EKU | 64
UNF | 77

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
1st Half

• The up-and-down pace that was expected proved evident before the first media timeout, with the two teams playing all the way to the 14:20 mark before the first media intermission hit … Jose Placer had five early points to pace the scoring, but EKU's Michael Moreno found a groove early to keep the Colonels up, 18-16, with 11:27 to go … Carter Hendricksen and Hicklen went for consecutive three-pointers to vault UNF ahead, 24-23 … another transition three-pointer from Hendricksen expanded the UNF advantage to 32-26, the largest lead of the game up to that point … EKU got a second-chance bucket and a step back jumper from Devontae Blanton, cutting its deficit to two at 32-30 … UNF responded with an 8-0 run to close the half, giving UNF a 40-32 lead at the break … Hendricksen put a stamp on his strong half and UNF's late run with a reverse dunk in transition.

2nd Half

• The North Florida momentum carried from the end of the first half, through the locker room and into the second half as North Florida began the second frame with a 16-8 run … UNF shut down EKU in the second frame, holding the Colonels to an 0-for-8 mark from three-point range … UNF expanded its lead to double-digits at 45-34 with 19:14 remaining, never allowing EKU to get within single digits the rest of the game … the Ospreys held EKU back by committee, getting eight points from Dorian James and Jadyn Parker respectively in the session … Chaz Lanier went 4-for-6 for nine points to pace all scorers in the second half.

 

?? CLINCHED ??@OspreyMBB is heading to the @ASUN_MBB Championship after its victory over EKU! ??#ASUNBuilt | #ASUNMadness | #SWOOPLife pic.twitter.com/4hJzpnbq4d

— #ASUNBuilt (@ASUNSports) February 23, 2023

BY THE NUMBERS

EASTERN KENTUCKY

• Michael Moreno | 15 points, 10 rebounds
• Isaiah Cozart | 15 points, 10 rebounds
• Dardan Kapiti | 10 points, 5 rebounds

NORTH FLORIDA

• Jarius Hicklen | 16 points, 9 assists, 3 steals
• Carter Hendricksen | 15 points, 5 rebounds
• Chaz Lanier | 12 points
• Jadyn Parker | 10 points, 7 rebounds, 2 blocks
• Jose Placer | 11 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists

NOTABLES

• It was the first-ever meeting between the two teams in the UNF Arena
• North Florida is 1-1 against EKU as league foes
• North Florida improves to 64-37 in February under head coach Matthew Driscoll
• The Ospreys are 5-2 this month, the best mark of any month this year
• UNF improved to 10-2 at home on the year
• It was UNF's fourth double-digit win in league play, tying the largest margin of victory for the Ospreys in any league game 
• UNF has defeated Jacksonville by 13 on a pair of occasions, as well as EKU tonight
• UNF outscored EKU, 12-2, in fast break buckets
• North Florida scored 19 points off of turnovers
• EKU was held to only four three-pointers, the third-lowest mark for the Colonels this year
• Hicklen was one helper shy of his first-career double-double. He posted a career-high for assists in the process
• Hicklen also tied a career high for steals
• Hendricksen surpassed 1,600-career points
• Hendricksen is now tied for second in UNF history in games played with 133. He joins Beau Beech at that number
• Lanier had his second double-digit scoring night of the season. Both of have come in the last three games
• Hicklen's nine assists was the highest of any Osprey since Emmanuel Adedoyin had nine Feb. 26, 2021 against Stetson
• It was the fifth time this year UNF has held a team below 20 percent from deep this year. It's the third time it was done against a league foe
• It was UNF's second game on a Wednesday night this year and first in league play

POSTGAME COMMENTS
 

"94x50 for 40" — get a snippet from @UNFBBALL's postgame with @Swaggychaz and @jhoop_5 ??

Full interview >> https://t.co/xUFGa6ZGBf pic.twitter.com/DpneLMWb9f

— UNF Men's Basketball (@OspreyMBB) February 23, 2023

UP NEXT
UNF plays its regular season finale on Senior Night Friday against Bellarmine, with tip-off set for 7 p.m. Carter Hendricksen will be honored for his career prior to the game.