Thursday, December 24, 2009

GULFPORT, Miss. – The University of North Florida men’s basketball team hit five free throws in the final 34 seconds to hold off Southern Miss, 53-46, Wednesday and capture the South Mississippi Christmas Classic with a perfect 3-0 record.

Up 14 at 43-29 with 5:42 to play, the Ospreys held off a furious Southern Miss rally by scoring their final 10 points from the free throw line to secure the win. The Golden Eagles cut UNF’s lead to 48-46 with 34 seconds left before senior guard Eni Cuka was fouled with 26 seconds left. Cuka calmly stepped to the line and hit both free-throws to push the lead back to 50-46. After two Southern Miss misses, Osprey point guard Brad Haugabrook was fouled and hit two free-throws with 13 seconds remaining to ice the game.

It was the third win in three days for North Florida, who also defeated Canisius, 65-61, on Monday and New Orleans, 64-49, on Tuesday. The win improved UNF to 4-7 overall and dropped Southern Miss to 8-3.

Haugbrook led the way for UNF with 11 points and a game-high four assists. The Ospreys had six other players score at least five points. Freshman Andy Diaz and senior Stan Januska tied for the team lead with six rebounds and Diaz also added three blocks.