Liberty’s late comeback attempt falls short at North Florida

Liberty went on a 10-0 run in the closing minutes of the game, but comes up just short falling at North Florida, 71-70.

The Flames trailed 70-60 with 3:08 to play but Liberty scored 10 straight to tie the game with 18 seconds left. UNF’s Garrett Sams would get fouled by Caleb Homesley with 1.5 seconds on the clock. Sams missed the first but made the second free throw to give the Ospreys a 71-70 lead. Darius McGhee’s half court heave was too long as the Flames fall into a first place at 5-1 in ASUN play with North Florida.

North Florida wasted little time getting into their offense as JT Escobar got an open three pointer just 4 seconds into the game. The Ospreys entered the game leading the nation in three point field goals made and attempted.

Liberty would attack the soft spot of the UNF zone, right in the middle, as Caleb Homesley and Myo Baxter-Bell scored the team’s first 10 points. The Flames went into the first media timeout with a 10-9 lead, but both Scottie James and Baxter-Bell had picked up one foul each.

North Florida made 3 of their first 6 attempts from three point range as they claimed a 17-14 first half lead at the 11:19 mark. All 14 of Liberty’s points came from the paint and from Caleb Homesley, Myo Baxter-Bell, and Scottie James. Baxter-Bell picked up his 2nd foul as we entered the second media timeout. James picked up his 2nd foul just a few moments later.

UNF’s Ivan Gandia-Rosa made a three pointer on what was intended to be a lob pass to Wajid Aminu. The Ospreys had attempted 11 three pointers in the first 12 minutes of the game, making 4 of them. Coach McKay opted to go to Shiloh Robinson and Kyle Rode in the post in the place of James and Baxter-Bell.

With Myo and Scottie to the bench limiting the Flames’ offensive post presence, it was Darius McGhee who became aggressive on the offensive end. The sophomore guard would first connect on a couple of three pointers, forcing the Ospreys defenders out on him, and with his quickness he was able to get into the paint on several occasions.

McGhee would add another three-pointer, giving him a team high 13 first half points. Georgie Pacheco-Ortiz would find a cutting Shiloh Robinson in the paint as the true freshman flushed it on the highlight worthy play. With time running out in the half, Caleb Homesley was fouled as he drove to the basket, but he would miss both of his free throw attempts.

North Florida continued to maintain the lead throughout the first half, as they would enter the locker room break with a 32-31 lead.

Baxter-Bell and Homesley each added 6 points, but Myo and Scottie James were limited to just 10 first half points. The Ospreys connected on just 26.7% from three in the first half.

Both teams would come out of the locker room lighting the scoreboard on fire as they exchanged buckets throughout the opening 5 minutes of the second half. The lead would also change hands on each possession as the game went from UNF up 1 to Liberty leading by 1. Scottie James and Wajid Aminu dominated the paint on several consecutive possessions as the teams were tied at 45 entering the under 16 media timeout.

The exchanging buckets would continue for the next several minutes as North Florida’s leading scorer, Carter Hendricksen finally got going both from behind the arc and in the paint. Following a couple of empty possessions for the Flames, the Ospreys pushed their lead to 54-50 with 11:30 left in the game.

Georgie Pacheco-Ortiz got fouled shooting a three pointer at the end of the shot clock, and he would make all three free throws to cut the lead to 1. After a Aminu bucket in the paint, Darius McGhee was able to shake his defender for an open 8-footer as he got to 17 points.

North Florida extended their lead to the largest of the game at 7 points with just over 6 minutes to play following a couple of clutch triples from Hendricksen and Garrett Sams. The lead would grow to 9 as the Ospreys used an 8-0 run while the Flames went scoreless from the 9:08 mark to 3:28.

That’s when the Flames went on their run, started by Pacheco-Ortiz jumper at the 2:51 mark. McGhee scored on acrobatic shot where he got the bucket and the foul, but he would miss the free throw. True freshman Shiloh Robinson then got fouled on a defensive rebound, he made both of his free throws to cut the score to 70-66. Pacheco-Ortiz made a putback with 32 seconds left. Cuffee made a couple of free throws to tie the game with 18 seconds left after he was fouled.

It looked like Garrett Sams was going to have a tough, fadeaway shot as time expired, but Homesley got his arm tangled up with his as he attempted to force a jump ball. Sams would make his 2nd free throw to give the Ospreys the winning advantage.

Darius McGhee led the scoring column for the Flames with 19 points, tying his career high. Pacheco-Ortiz added 17 while Caleb Homesley finished with 12 points and Scottie James added 10.

The Ospreys shot 35.7% on their 28 three point attempts and all five starters reached double figures led by Gandia-Rosa’s 19.

Liberty stays in Florida as the Flames face Stetson on Saturday. The Hatters improved to 4-2 in league play Thursday night with a come from behind win against NJIT. They are just one game out of first place and stand alone in 3rd.