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JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Kennesaw State lost a tough road contest at North Florida on Saturday, January 13, 85-78 in UNF Arena despite Nick Masterson catching fire in the second half and totaling a game high 24 points.
 
UNF contained Masterson in the first half, but he found some openings in the second half and made the Ospreys pay scoring 21 of his 24 points in the final 20 minutes.
 
After leading by one at halftime, North Florida opened up a 10-point lead in the first four minutes of the second half and that's when Masterson came alive.
 
Over the next four minutes, he scored eight quick points getting the Owls back within two points at 53-51. KSU continued their run all the way to 20-9 to get back and take a 58-57 lead. The run was capped by Tyler Hooker getting a traditional three-point play making his free throw out of a media timeout with 11:15 to go in the game.
 
The score was close from there until the final few minutes, when the Ospreys got a couple stops and edged out their lead to clinch the ASUN victory.
 
The refs had a consistent quick whistle all night long calling 44 fouls in the game. Kennesaw State went 17-23 from the free throw line and North Florida went 32-37. The Ospreys were 24-27 from the free throw line in the second half.
 
The Owls had a slow start in the first half and due to some foul trouble they had to rely on their bench heavily. Those guys came through leading KSU back after trailing by 11 to a two-point edge late in the first half up 29-27. The bench for the Owls scored 20 of the 34 points that the team had in the first half.
  
With the Ospreys up double-digits again early in the second half, Kennesaw State used their huge 20-9 run to take their second lead of the game.
 
North Florida stayed aggressive and kept getting to the free throw line to give them the edge over the final eight minutes.
 
The loss drops KSU to 4-14 overall and 0-3 in the ASUN.
 
The Owls will now head home to host Stetson on Thursday, January 18 at 7 p.m. in the KSU Convocation Center. The Owls swept the Hatters a season ago.

#NestNotes

• With 44 fouls called in the game, both teams were at the free throw line all night. The Owls finished 17-23 from the line and the Ospreys finished 32-37 with 27 of those attempts coming in the second half.
• Kennesaw State forced 17 turnovers against North Florida. It is the second game in a row that KSU forced 17 turnovers.
• KSU outrebounded the Ospreys 25-15 in the first half and had 13 offensive boards leading to nine points. The Owls limited North Florida to only one offensive rebound in the first 20 minutes.
• After finding themselves in some foul trouble in the first half and in a double-digit deficit, KSU's bench stepped up with 20 points leading the Owls back to within one at halftime.
• Masterson scored 21 of 24 points in the second half, keeping KSU within striking distance until the final minutes of the game. The 24 points was a game high. It was the second time this season that Masterson has scored 20 points in a game.
• Two other Owls scored in double figures as James Scott and Kosta Jankovic each had 15 points.
• UNF makes the most threes per game in the ASUN at a little over 11, but Kennesaw State held North Florida below their average tonight as they were 7-30 from long distance.

 
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