Saturday, March 05, 2011

MACON, Ga. – No. 6 seed UNF continued its opportunistic run in the General Shale Brick Atlantic Sun Conference Men’s Basketball Championships by knocking off No. 2 seed ETSU in Friday’s second semifinal game of the day.

In their quarterfinal bout on Thursday, the Ospreys (15-18) took out No. 3 Jacksonville to earn the date against the Buccaneers (22-11) on Friday. UNF search for an upset once again in Saturday’s championship game at 6 p.m. on ESPN2 when they face No. 1 seed Belmont.

UNF took control of the game early and – while neither team was ever able to lead by double figures – the Ospreys were able to prey upon the Bucs’ shooting difficulties. ETSU was held to 35 percent (19-54) from the field, but just 13 percent (2-16) from beyond the arc.

That’s where UNF was able to build a little separation, hitting six-of-20 from long range. The Ospreys’ reserves also outscored the Bucs’ bench by a 19-5 margin.

ETSU led 10-9 with 12:36 left to play in the first half when UNF’s Andy Diaz converted a layup to put his team ahead 11-10. UNF led for the remainder of the game as they took a 31-27 advantage into the locker room. The Bucs hung around, however, and got to within a single point, 56-55, with 32 seconds left. But the Bucs missed a pair of three-pointers and a short jumper down the stretch and UNF hits its free throws for the upset win.

A quartet of Ospreys scored in double figures, headed by 13 apiece from David Jeune and Parker Smith. Diaz and Jerron Granberry finished with 11 and 10 points, respectively. ETSU’s Mike smith led all scorers with 20 points. Teammate Isiah Brown added 10 points in the loss.