Late rally not enough for Ospreys in loss to Flames
February 20, 2020
Featured image by: Darvin Nelson
In an uphill battle throughout the entire game, the Flames eked out an 82-77 win behind 28 points from Caleb Homesley.
JT Escobar led the Ospreys with 26 points in the loss to Liberty.
Ivan Gandia-Rosa fired off the opening salvo with a three to open up the game with a 3-0 lead.
The Ospreys struggled to defend the Flames when they went on a 10-2 run until Carter Hendricksen answered with a three of his own to cut the deficit to 10-8, Flames.
UNF finally erased the deficit when Wajid Aminu put up a shot close to the rim for a 15-14 lead.
The Flames went on an 8-0 run to take control of the game with mostly shots inside.
Liberty reached their largest lead of the game up 10 but the Ospreys continued to hold their own with a trio of three-pointers from JT Escobar to keep the score 41-30, Flames, at the half.
Escobar led the team with 11 points at the half.
The Flames continued their momentum entering the second half, making three of their first five shots to stay ahead.
Failure to execute was the name of the game for the Ospreys early in the second half, relying on Escobar to make key shots from deep.
The Flames didn’t turn the ball over once in the first ten minutes of the second half.
The Ospreys would reach within 10 but couldn’t capitalize
Smart plays from UNF led to a 6-0 run to put them within five as the Flames continued to lead, 67-62.
Ryan Burkhardt fired a three to put the Ospreys within two for a slim 79-77 Flames lead but Liberty would edge away with an 82-77 win.
One of the biggest glaring factors is that the Ospreys only had six chances at sinking a free throw, going 4-6.
Homesley was a driving force for the Flames with 28 points.
Escobar was electric throughout the entire game, going 10-17 from the field and nailing 6-12 from deep.
With the loss, the Ospreys drop to 11-3 and are now second in the ASUN as Liberty takes sole possession of first place with an 11-2 record.
The Ospreys head home to take on Lipscomb on Saturday, Feb. 15 at 5:00 p.m.
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