JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - Thanks to a dominant effort on the offensive glass, 13 three-pointers and timely stops down the stretch, UNF (10-14, 5-7 ASUN) men's basketball quieted JU (12-11, 5-7 ASUN) with a 65-58 win in front of an electric crowd at the UNF Arena Saturday, Feb. 4. 4,439 fans showed up for the homecoming victory, marking UNF's largest home crowd since hosting Florida in 2016.
North Florida had the lead for 18 more minutes than JU, while outscoring the Dolphins by 13 in second chance buckets. UNF's home court advantage shone through once again in the win as North Florida improved to 8-1 at home on the year.
UNF sweeps the men's basketball portion of the River City Rumble with the win, giving UNF multiple wins against JU in the same season for the first time since 2019-20.
Jose Placer posted 21 points, bringing him to 999 in a UNF uniform, while
Jadyn Parker surpassed 100-career blocks.
FINAL SCORE
JU | 58
UNF | 65
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
1st Half
- The first two stretches between media timeouts were a defensive struggle as both teams worked the clock during their respective possessions … Carter Hendricksen hit the game's first three-pointer, providing a 5-4 lead at the first media timeout, while Jarius Hicklen's lone three on the night gave a 11-10 advantage … JU's best offensive stretch of the night created a 22-15 Dolphins' lead, although it was a short-lived … after a UNF timeout, the Ospreys closed the session on a 20-6 run, taking a 35-28 lead into halftime … JU had a three-pointer taken off the board after a review revealed a shot clock violation during that stretch … UNF hit eight of its 13 three-pointers in the first half.
2nd Half
- Oscar Berry catalyzed UNF's scoring early in the second half, hitting a pair of three pointers, while Jose Placer's 14-second half points were the fuel that carried the offense the rest of the way … UNF's lead widened to a game-high 11 at the 15:35 mark, although JU provided a response, going for an 11-2 run to get within two at 47-45 UNF … at that point, Hendricksen threw down a vicious dunk, sparking the Ospreys before the second media timeout … second chance three-pointers from Placer and Hendricksen were big in pushing UNF to two and three-score leads respectively … JU's Osayi Osifo made consecutive buckets to give the Dolphins a few last gasps at the 2:00-minute mark, but the Dolphins suffered a series of turnovers as UNF pulled ahead, 65-58.
BY THE NUMBERS
NORTH FLORIDA
JU
- Osayi Osifo | 15 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists
- Mike Marsh | 14 points, 2 rebounds
NOTABLES
- UNF improves to 8-1 at home on the season
- North Florida's 65 points was its lowest point total in a win this year
- Hendricksen reached 700-career rebounds with four Saturday
- Jadyn Parker swatted two shots, bringing him to 101 for his UNF career. He is just the sixth in UNF history to surpass 100-career blocks
- Placer averaged 25.5 points per game in two games against JU this week, while also averaging 5.5 three-pointers per game
- The 4,439 attendance was the highest since the UNF Arena hosted 6,011 fans for the NIT meeting against Florida March 15, 2016
- It was the fourth-largest River City Rumble attendance in series history
- The Ospreys grabbed 15 offensive boards while holding JU to just four
- The Dolphins shot just 4-for-25 from beyond the arc during the two River City Rumble games
- North Florida benefited off those offensive boards, posting a 17-4 scoring margin in that area
Postgame Comments
UP NEXT
UNF continues its three-game home stand Thursday, Feb. 9 against FGCU at 7 p.m.
