Sams, N. Florida use 2nd-half surge to down Florida National

Published

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Garrett Sams scored 22 points and Noah Horchler scored 16 with 15 rebounds to lead North Florida to a 104-76 win over NAIA-member Florida National on Wednesday night.

Wajid Aminu and Ivan Gandia-Rosa each scored 14 points for the Ospreys (6-9), who have won all four of their home games. The win snapped a two-game losing streak, which came against then-No. 11 Florida State and No. 12 Auburn.

The Conquistadors put up a fight in the first half in a back-and-forth contest. Neither team led by more than four points and North Florida was up 40-38 at intermission. But after the break, Gandia-Rosa and Sams each buried 3-pointers, and after Kenneth Santos' layup for Florida National, Sams buried another 3 for a 49-40 lead and the Ospreys were never challenged again.

Antonio Sims led the Conquistadors with 21 points, Santos scored 18 and Jeffrey Hernandez added 15.