Box Score (.pdf)

Jacksonville, Fla. – Dallas Moore's three-pointer with 30 seconds left proved to be the game-winner as the North Florida Ospreys held off the USC Upstate men's basketball team 81-78 Saturday evening in front of 4,086 fans at UNF Arena.

Upstate falls to 9-21 overall and 3-10 in the A-Sun, while North Florida improves to 20-10 on the season and 9-4 in conference play.

Michael Buchanan and Philip Whittington combined for 34 points as Buchanan recorded his fifth double-double of the season and Whittington fell two points shy of tying his career-high. Buchanan finished with a team-high 20 points and a game-high 11 rebounds on 9-of-13 shooting with two blocks, one assist and one steal. Whittington contributed 14 points on 7-of-9 shooting, five rebounds, two blocks and one steal in just 13 minutes of playing time.

Demarcus Daniels had a game-high 23 points and was one of four Ospreys to finish in double-figures scoring. Daniels also grabbed eight rebounds along with Chris Davenport, while Moore dished out nine assists.

After Mike Cunningham connected on a three less than a minute into the game giving the Spartans a 3-0 lead, North Florida scored nine straight and led 9-3 with 16:03 left after a dunk by Daniels. The Ospreys held the six-point lead over the next minute before Upstate fought back to take a 16-15 lead at the 12:21 mark on Buchanan's layup.

The teams sat tied seven times over the next six minutes until Marvin Smith and Tristan Thomas scored five straight points for the Spartans to give them a 36-32 lead with 4:30 to go. Smith connected on a jumper and Thomas followed the next possession with a three. Upstate built its lead out to six twice over the final 4:13 of the half with the last coming at 40-34 with 3:17 remaining after a layup by Josh Cuthbertson.

North Florida concluded the first half on a 7-0 run and held a 41-40 lead at intermission. Davenport's dunk with 1:41 left before halftime gave the Ospreys the one-point lead.

The Spartans raced out to a five-point lead less than five minutes into the second half and held a 52-47 advantage with 15:46 left after Buchanan's layup. After North Florida evened the score at 54-54 just over a minute later, Upstate scored the next five points including three by Deion Holmes.

The Spartans took their largest lead of the game at the 8:45 mark when a field goal from Whittington increased their advantage to 71-62. The Ospreys slowly chipped away at the lead and eventually tied the score at 74-74 with 1:44 left following a free throw by Daniels. The teams exchanged baskets until Buchanan's layup with 45 seconds left put Upstate in front 78-77.

Moore's triple with 30 seconds remaining gave UNF the 80-78 lead and would hold on to it as the Spartans missed two late free throws. Beau Beech added a free throw late to push the Ospreys lead to 81-78. Upstate had one final chance to send the game into overtime but its last-second three was blocked.

The Spartans finished the game shooting 51.5% (34-of-66) from the field while North Florida was 44.6% (29-of-65) as a team. Upstate outrebounded UNF 41-34, and held a 40-36 advantage in points in the paint and 30-26 in points from the bench.

The Spartans wrap up their regular season Thursday, Feb. 25 at 7 p.m. against NJIT on Senior Night.

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