Thursday, March 03, 2011

MACON, Ga. – The men’s bracket of the General Shale Brick Atlantic Sun Conference Basketball Championships got its first shake-up as No. 6 seed UNF Ospreys upset cross-town rival Jacksonville, 68-64, in the quarterfinals.

The win propels the Ospreys (14-18) into Friday’s semifinal game versus No. 2 seed ETSU and also gives UNF their first A-Sun Championship victory in program history.

The victory also snaps an 11-game losing streak to the Dolphins and only their second victory in the 14-game series history.

Both teams played it close the first half, with the Dolphins (19-11) taking a 28-22 lead into the locker room. The second half saw the Ospreys lead by as much as five points after overcoming a 10-point deficit with 11:17 remaining in the game. Critical in the UNF comeback was a 15-6 run midway through the period that drew the Ospreys within a single point, 50-49, thanks to a layup by Andy Diaz, who finished with 19 points.

A Diaz bucket with 3:23 left to go put UNF on top for good, 61-59. Jimmy Williams’ free throw with 19 seconds left pushed the UNF margin to five, 65-60, to thwart the Dolphins as they tried to overtake UNF down the stretch.

The Osprey’s Jerron Granberry nestled a game-leading 23 points in the books, thanks to an efficient seven-of-eight shooting effort from the field and an eight-of-nine game from the charity stripe.

JU’s Ayron Hardy had a double-double of 12 points and 10 rebounds in the losing effort. Teammate Delwan Graham added 10 points as the only other Dolphin in double digits. Graham also had three blocked shots.

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