Ospreys hang on and defeat Tigers in Home Opener

Drew McDonald, Sports Editor

After a rocky start, the Ospreys grinded and battled to topple the Edward Waters Tigers, 95-83.

The Tigers got off to a hot start, leading 6-0 at the beginning of the game. Junior Ivan Gandia-Rosa got the Ospreys on the board with a three-point dagger.  

“I didn’t like the way the flow started in the beginning. I thought we self-inflicted ourself, I thought we turned the ball over and made haphazard plays,” Driscoll said

After the second timeout, the Ospreys regained the lead, 18-15, scoring 13 of their points off turnovers. The Ospreys finished the half strong, leading 46-28 and hitting four out of their five triples. Gandia-Rosa ended the half with 18 points and three assists. Once the Ospreys got rolling, the packed student section was bringing the noise.

“It was a great atmosphere, the energy was great. Every media timeout, you could hear the crowd going crazy,” Gandia-Rosa said.

The Ospreys continuously poured onto the lead in the second half until late when the Tigers were within 13 after successfully pressing the Ospreys and hitting threes.

“When you start making threes like that, it makes your press a whole lot better,” Driscoll said.

UNF hung onto their lead as they won, 95-83.

Gandia-Rosa led the team with 21 points, nailing three of his four triples. Junior Garrett Sams finished with 14 points and Junior Wajid Aminu led the team in rebounds with 10. Throughout the game, the Ospreys landed 50 percent of their shots.

“We have great shooters, any time we saw an opening to get in the lane, we try to take advantage of it every time,” Gandia-Rosa said.

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