Parker Smith scored 25 points and Matt Sauey added 12 points and 14 rebounds to lead North Florida to a 71-59 victory over Lipscomb in an Atlantic Sun Conference game Saturday night.
The Ospreys (11-12, 5-5) raced to a 24-6 lead in the opening 10 minutes, led 45-24 at halftime and fought off a late charge to defeat the Bison (10-12, 5-5) for the second time this season.
A 3-pointer by Jordan Burgason, who scored 15 of his 19 points in the second half, cut Lipscomb's deficit to 62-56 with 3:11 remaining, but two baskets by Smith and one by Jimmy Williams helped rebuild North Florida's lead to 11 points, 69-58, with 1:17 left.
North Florida shot 46.8 percent (29 of 62) from the field to Lipscomb's 31.7 percent (19 of 60), helping the Ospreys survive an 8-of-21 night at the free throw line. Lipscomb made 15 of 23 from the line.
