University of North Florida
2-6,0-0ASUN
SIUE
6-3,0-0OVC
Men’s Basketball Falls To SIUE In Tightly-Contested Second Half
12/2/2025 10:00:00 PM | Men's Basketball
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – North Florida Men's Basketball fell late in a second-half battle to SIUE, 72-63, at UNF Arena on Tuesday night.Â
Senior guard Kamrin Oriol and freshman guard/forward Trey Cady each turned in a team-high 16 points. Oriol connected on 6-13 from the field and 2-5 from three, in addition to four rebounds, three assists and a steal in 38 minutes. Cady posted his second-straight game with a team-high point total on 5-8 from the field and 3-3 from three, in addition to three rebounds in 20 minutes.
Freshman guard/forward BJ Plummer rounded out the double-digit scorers for North Florida with 10 points on 4-5 from the field and 2-3 from three in 29 minutes.
Oriol scored seven of North Florida's initial 16 points to help North Florida earn a two-point lead at the under 12-minute media timeout in the first half.
Lee knocked down a three with 7:50 minutes in the first half to help North Florida command a 22-19 lead. The Ospreys opened 4-10 from three and forced SIUE into four turnovers in the initial 12 minutes of the first half.
North Florida earned its largest lead of the first half at 25-20 on a deep three-pointer from Jackson as the shot clock expired. North Florida held the lead from the 10:17-minute mark of the first half until 3:48 minutes left. North Florida narrowly trailed 30-29 at the half.
SIUE's 30 points in the first half was the second-lowest point total an opponent has scored against North Florida this season. The Ospreys held its visitors to 34.3 percent from the field and 31.3 on three in the first half. The first half featured four ties and four lead changes. Oriol posted a team-high nine points in the first half.
Cady was sensational to open the second half, scoring nine-straight points in less than two minutes to knot the score at 46 apiece 11:57 remaining in the second half. Oriol added a tip-in layup and a pair of free throws to help fuel UNF's scoring out of the break. Amid a tightly contested second half, Plummer buried back-to-back go-ahead threes to help North Florida command a 52-50 lead at the under eight-minute timeout in the second half. The Ospreys opened the second half 4-9 from three and 5-5 from the free-throw line.
A made floater from Cady with under six minutes left to play allowed North Florida to earn its largest lead of the game and extend its advantage to 61-54. SIUE built momentum with a 9-0 run down the stretch to propel it to the final margin.
North Florida held a 29-18 margin in bench points.
North Florida travels to Spokane, Wash. to take on No. 11/11 Gonzaga at McCarthy Athletic Center on Sunday, Dec. 7 at 9 p.m. ET.
