Like a broken record, the same problems showed up for the Ospreys as the Liberty Flames swept them in their season-series. The 80-60 loss proved that this team still has a lot to learn.

If a fan had turned off the game after watching the first 10 minutes, they would have thought this game would have been closer than the final score revealed. The first half started off to be a close contest, but Liberty found its groove and made a late push to lead 44-36 at the half.

Liberty guard Darius McGhee led the charge for the Flames posting a game-high 22 points on 6-11 from deep. After not shooting well and only posting five points in yesterday’s contest, McGhee took a page out of UNF’s playbook and started raining from deep. 

This three-point shooting performance fueled the Flames in the second half as the Ospreys continued to struggle from deep, and the Liberty lead continued to grow their lead. Shooting just 29.2 percent from the perimeter, UNF battled against the Flames continued outside pressure. 

Once again, the Ospreys only had two players reach double digits in points, with Carter Hendricksen leading UNF in points, rebounds and assists. To put it in perspective, he finished with five rebounds.

While the rebounding category has always been a struggle this season for the Ospreys, the missed shots will, of course, cause the other team to gather more rebounds. However, one useful takeaway from this game is that UNF was able to tie the Flames in the offensive rebounding category, with both teams recording eight apiece. 

That stat was about the only highlight as the Ospreys now drop to 5-5 in conference play on the season, with their next four games coming against middle-of-the-pack teams in Lipscomb and FGCU. 

After yesterday’s 12 point loss and today’s 20 point loss, Head Coach Matthew Driscoll will have only a handful of games to get his Ospreys in order before the conference tournament. The Ospreys will return home next weekend for a scheduled series against Bellarmine on Friday and Saturday. Make sure to tune in to UNFSpinnaker.com for more coverage of UNF Sports.

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