Thursday, November 19, 2009

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The University of North Florida men’s basketball team won its home opener Wednesday night, downing Savannah State 57-46 at UNF Arena.

The win moved the Ospreys to 1-1 on the year and was the first win in the Matthew Driscoll era at UNF. Driscoll was named the fourth head coach in the program’s history on April 4, 2009.

Savannah State made a quick spurt to cut the lead to five at 31-26 with 13:12 left but that was as close as the Tigers would get.

North Florida pushed the lead back to 12 with 5:11 to play at 43-21 and converted at the free throw line to put the game away. The Ospreys went 19-22 from the line in the second half. UNF shot 77 percent from the line for the game (24-31).

Freshman guard Jerron Granberry led UNF with a career-high 16 points, going 3-4 from the field, 2-3 from 3-point range and 8-8 from the free throw line. He also grabbed four rebounds and had an assist.

Senior guard Eni Cuka added 11 for the Ospreys and was 3-4 from 3-point range. Nine North Florida players scored in the game.