LYNCHBURG, Va. - In a season that saw eight games decided by a one possession difference, it was a last-second shot that created the final margin as North Florida men's basketball was bested by Bellarmine's buzzer beater during a 76-74 loss in the 2023 ASUN Championship First Round Monday, Feb. 27.
Seventh-seeded North Florida (14-17, 9-9 ASUN) and eighth-seeded Bellarmine (15-17, 9-9 ASUN) traded leads and blows all game, with the contest seeing no greater than a seven-point lead either way. Both teams had their own runs, but UNF's 9-0 run late in the first frame was the largest for either side.
All told, there were 13 lead changes and seven tie scores, with the last of the ties coming when
Carter Hendricksen slammed in a game-tying dunk with nine seconds to go. Bellarmine's sixth-year senior, Juston Betz, got the ball on the wing and had a fortuitous-contested fadeaway carom off the rim and through the net with 0.4 on the clock.
UNF's 14th-straight ASUN Championship appearance saw a record-breaking performance by
Jarius Hicklen. The lethal guard set the North Florida record for three-pointers made in an ASUN Championship game, draining seven of his 11 attempts for 25 points. He broke the previous mark of six, most recently met by Garrett Sams back in 2019, also at Liberty. Hicklen was one three-pointer shy of his career-high eight treys set Feb. 2022 against Liberty.
FINAL SCORE
BU | 76
UNF | 74
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
1st Half
- UNF won the tip-off and Jose Placer hit a three-pointer within the first 15 seconds and Oscar Berry got loose for another as UNF had a 10-6 lead at the first media ... UNF created points off Bellarmine turnovers … Bellarmine got a second-chance opportunity as its Garrett Tipton hit a three-pointer to cut the UNF lead to 15-14 with 12:21 to go … Bellarmine took its first lead at 11:30, going up 16-15 … Hicklen came up with big-time consecutive three-pointers, tying the game up at 21-21 .. Bellarmine was able to get consecutive buckets at the rim, taking a 25-21 lead at the under-eight media timeout … Bellarmine worked its lead to seven, but Hicklen replied with his fourth three to cut it back to four … coming out of the final media timeout, Bellarmine missed two free throws and Hicklen hit a high-difficulty three to cut the deficit to just three … Jonathan Aybar hit two free throws off the one-and-one, completing a 7-0 run and giving UNF a 36-35 lead with 1:25 to go … Hicklen had 17 to pace UNF as the Ospreys had a 38-37 lead at the break.
2nd Half
- Hicklen picked up where he left off, hitting a stepback trey for his sixth three-pointer and a 41-39 lead … Hendricksen hit another trey as things were knotted at 46 at the under-16 media timeout … turnovers hindered UNF in the middle portion of the half as Bellarmine widened its lead to 56-50, its largest of the half … Hicklen's seventh three-pointer completed a 7-0 run and also set the UNF single-game three-pointer record for the Ospreys in an ASUN Championship game ... Bellarmine's Ben Johnson hit a trey and Hicklen followed with another layup, pushing the game to 63-59 Bellarmine at the under-eight media timeout … Hendricksen went to the rack and Dorian James made a putback to tie it at 63-63 … Bellarmine got a bucket down low, but Oscar Berry was left unattended to in the corner, giving UNF the one-point lead with a trey … Bellarmine got a floater and two tree throws to take a 69-66 lead with two minutes left … UNF got two huge consecutive stops between the two and one-minute mark … a layup rolled off the rim and to Bellarmine as the Knights hit two more free throws … down five, Chaz Lanier made a critical corner three-pointer at the 39-second mark, cutting the deficit to two … Bellarmine hit two more free throws, but Hendricksen was left wide-open and made the Knights pay with a three-pointer from the wing … Hendricksen came up big again after Bellarmine missed the back half of two free throws, putting down a dunk to tie it at 74 … but, Bellarmine's Betz hit a fadeaway jumper that bounced off the rim and in, giving the Knights the win.
BY THE NUMBERS
BELLARMINE
- Ben Johnson | 26 points, 3 steals
- Peter Suder | 13 points, 6 rebounds
- Juston Betz | 8 points, 8 rebounds
NORTH FLORIDA
NOTABLES
- It was UNF's first-ever meeting against Bellarmine away from the UNF Arena
- Bellarmine was the second team UNF has played in consecutive games this year, joining JU
- North Florida and Bellarmine played as foes in the ASUN postseason for the first time
- North Florida played its first game at Liberty in postseason play since the 2019 ASUN Championship Semifinals
- This marks UNF's 14th-straight ASUN Championship appearance
- UNF played its first neutral site game of the year
- The regular season game hit the half with a one-point margin as well, although Bellarmine had the one-point lead at the half Feb. 24
- UNF had six more three-pointers than Bellarmine through 20 minutes, but Bellarmine had a 14-point margin in the paint
- Hicklen broke UNF's ASUN Championship record for three-pointers made in a single game. Parker Smith, JT Escobar and Garrett Sams had a share of the previous record with six.
- Hicklen had the most points by a UNF player in ASUN postseason play since Garrett Sams had 28 against NJIT Feb. 26, 2018
- Both teams had 13 turnovers. Bellarmine and UNF only had a one-assist margin
- North Florida broke double-digit three-pointers made in 18 of 31 games
- Neither team had greater than a seven-point lead or a double-digit scoring run
- UNF's best scoring run was 9-0, while Bellarmine had a 7-0
- Placer had seven assists, good for a season high and one shy of his career high
- It was UNF's ninth game shooting above 50 percent
- It was the sixth league game decided by one possession and eight taking into account non-conference play
- Hendricksen tied Dallas Moore for most games played in UNF history with 135
- Hendricksen tallied his 84th double-digit scoring game
- Lanier had his third-straight double-digit scoring game
- UNF is 65-38 under head coach Matthew Driscoll in February
- Berry got in the passing lanes, swiping a career-best four steals
POSTGAME COMMENTS
