JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - In his 134th game in a UNF uniform, UNF great
Carter Hendricksen scored 25 points and brought down nine boards as the Ospreys (14-16, 9-9 ASUN) rolled Bellarmine, 79-67, in the regular season finale on Senior Night Friday, Feb. 24.
UNF secures the seventh seed in the ASUN Championship, pitting North Florida against Bellarmine (14-17, 9-9 ASUN) in the first round of the postseason Monday, Feb. 27 in Lynchburg, Va. The winner of that game moves on to face No. 2 Liberty at Liberty Tuesday, Feb. 28 at 7 p.m.
North Florida concluded the regular season 11-2 at home, giving the Ospreys their 12th-straight winning season in The Nest. Hendricksen finished his UNF career with 806 points in home games, seeing North Florida to 46 wins at home during his tenure.
For the game UNF shot 12-for-24 from deep, with
Jonathan Aybar and
Jarius Hicklen adding 14 points apiece. Second chance buckets were big, with UNF outscoring Bellarmine, 19-2, in second chance points.
The Ospreys outscored Bellarmine, 41-28 in the second half, with Hendricksen posting 17 of his 25 in the second session.
FINAL SCORE
BU | 67
UNF | 79
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
1st Half
- There were very few stoppages through the first four minutes, with the two teams tied at six at the first media timeout … Hendricksen and Jose Placer both hit three-pointers early on … a three-point battle continued, with a Chaz Lanier trey from his sweet spot in the corner giving North Florida an 18-17 lead at the second media timeout … up 20-19, North Florida went on a 6-0 run … Aybar went 4-for-5 early on with eight points … tied 29-29, Aybar hit a little jump hook, but a driving layup evened it again … despite Bellarmine chasing UNF for most of the first half, the Knights went on a 6-0 run to take a one-point lead into the intermission.
2nd Half
- Placer hit a layup to give UNF the 49-48 lead with 15:12 to go, a lead that UNF would never relinquish the rest of the way … Hendricksen hit three three-pointers in less than two minutes, providing North Florida a five-point lead at the 12:57 mark … Hicklen made it a 10-point margin with his own second-chance three-pointer with 7:47 to go … the wind was all but out of the Bellarmine sails at that point, with Hendricksen scoring 17 of his 25 in the second session in a runaway win late.
BY THE NUMBERS
BELLARMINE
- Peter Suder | 12 points, 5 assists
- Ben Johnson | 11 points, 3 rebounds
- Michael Bova | 10 points
NORTH FLORIDA
NOTABLES
- UNF evened the all-time series up with Bellarmine, 1-1
- North Florida is 65-37 during February under head coach Matthew Driscoll
- The Ospreys won six of their last nine games throughout the second half of league play
- UNF is 6-2 during the month of February
- Hendricksen is now second all-time in games played
- Nearly half of Hendricksen's career points have been scored in UNF home games
- There were 15 lead changes and five tie scores
- Hendricksen posted his 21st 20-plus point performance
- UNF shot 7-for-7 from the free throw line
- UNF's biggest lead was 13, although Bellarmine only led by as much as three
- Hicklen posted his seventh game of at least five assists
POSTGAME COMMENTS
UP NEXT
UNF and Bellarmine meet again Monday night in Lynchburg for the ASUN Championship First Round. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.
