Box Score

Gameday Blog

SAVANNAH, Ga. (Nov. 16, 2008) – The University of North Florida put together a furious second-half rally but couldn’t sustain it in a 75-60 loss to open the season at Savannah State.

UNF (0-1) made up a 15-point deficit, eventually taking a three-point lead in the second half of play before Savannah State put together a late 18-2 run to capture the victory.

“We ran out of steam at the end of the game today,” UNF head coach Matt Kilcullen said. “Our free throw shooting was terrific. We needed to make better decisions in the half court offense and put a team away when we have a chance. We had a late lead and a legitimate chance to win the game.”

Three Ospreys scored in double figures in the loss, led by Cortez Riley who scored 16 points, 13 of which came in the second half.

The Tigers led by 12 at the half, but UNF began to cut into that advantage when Riley drained a jumper to make a 36-28 contest. The Ospreys kept the pressure on from there taking advantage of a trip down the court that saw them score five points. Three of those came on a Cameron Lovelace 3-pointer from the baseline, while Zack Riggins scored the other two after Savannah State committed a foul underneath the basket on the Lovelace tre and gave the ball back to UNF.

The Ospreys grabbed their first lead of the half on Lovelace’s third 3-pointer of the game, then traded leads with the Tigers before eventually claiming a 51-48 lead on a Riley jumper that followed a Kyle Groothuis layup.

Tracy Rankins, however, took over down the stretch for Savannah State, scoring 12 points during the late run. Rankins led all scorers in the game with 24 points, hitting 11-of-13 shots from the foul line.

Lovelace and Sparkes followed Riley in the scoring column for UNF with 11 points apiece.

“Cameron Lovelace and Zack Riggins showed me they could play on this level today,” Kilcullen said. “I loved Cameron’s energy and Zack’s enthusiasm, they are going to be great players for us once they learn the college game.”

Riggins finished the contest with six points and three rebounds before fouling out in the second half. 

Groothuis led the team with seven rebounds, while Stan Januska followed him with six. The Tigers won the rebounding battle 38-29 and outshot UNF from the field, hitting 48.9 percent of their shots, compared to UNF, which hit 36.8 percent of its shots.

UNF was 13-of-19 from the free throw line and hit 7-of-9 from the stripe in the second half.

Despite at least two fouls from every starter in the opening half, UNF managed to hang around with Savannah State, taking an early 7-6 advantage on five points in a row by Januska. The junior hit a driving layup, followed by a 3-pointer on the right wing to give the Ospreys the early advantage.

Januska, however, sat out most of the half after picking up three offensive fouls.

The Ospreys trailed 34-22 at the break with Januska and Germaine Sparkes each leading the way with five points. Rankins led Savannah State with 11 points off the bench.

UNF will head back on the road next week when it travels to Provo, Utah, for the BYU Travelers Invitational., taking on BYU Thursday night at 9:30 p.m. EST, before matching up with Cal-Poly and Rice.