The streaking Ospreys have been humbled as of late, and head coach Matthew Driscoll’s first run-in with cross-town rival Jacksonville University didn’t go too well.
The men’s basketball team lost to JU Jan. 18, 62-55, dropping their second straight conference game and falling to 9-10 (4-5 Atlantic Sun).
Despite the Ospreys leading by nine points in the second half, it was the turnovers and missed opportunities that hurt the most.
Not to mention the atmosphere didn’t help UNF at all.
Swisher Gymnasium boasts a size comparable to most First Coast high schools.
JU provided UNF Athletics with the required minimum 50 tickets to the game.
UNF Athletic Director Lee Moon said those tickets would go fast. Most were to be used for the families of the players.
Student Body President John Barnes was also trying to gain access to the game, but he did not go.
The reason the game was played at Swisher and not the Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena is the circus has come to town, said Joel Lamp, spokesman for JU Athletics.
JU made attempts to trade dates with UNF, but UNF was unable to trade dates to allow the game to be played at the arena, Hall said.
Points off turnovers helped the Dolphins outscore UNF.
JU scored 15 points off UNF’s 15 turnovers while the Ospreys could only score four off JU’s seven turnovers.
Point guard Brad Haugabrook also struggled at scoring. A player that usually averages nearly nine points a game has only scored 20 points in the last three games. And against JU, Haugabrook only made two shots — one being his first three-pointer of the season and the other being a free throw.
Despite the fans being unable to go to the games, many students met up at the Boathouse restaurant on campus for an organized watch party.
“Tons of people are excited to be Ospreys,” Barnes told the Spinnaker. “It’s great for campus life. It’s one of the few things that’s gonna get better.”
The crowd was made up of about 50 people, including alumni, Greek life and general fans. Media Relations had a table and were giving students free tickets to the JU game when they came to the Boathouse and only about 10 people seemed to line up for that. It was generally pretty quiet with a few cheers for UNF here and there.
The UNF women’s basketball team also played JU Jan. 18, but they left Swisher with the same result.
The women, though, were able to push the game into overtime before losing. 64-58 falling to 5-13 (2-7 Atlantic Sun).
This marks the sixth time this season the women’s basketball team has lost by six points or less.
The men’s basketball team will host conference foe University of South Carolina Upstate Jan. 21 at 7:45 p.m.
E-mail Josh Gore at
sports@unfspinnaker.com.