Horchler leads balanced North Florida past FGCU 87-66

Jan 13, 2019, 01:17 am

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Noah Horchler scored 17 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, his ninth double-double of the season, and led a balanced North Florida past Florida Gulf Coast 87-66 on Saturday.

Horchler was one of five players to reach double figures for the Ospreys (8-10, 2-1 Atlantic Sun). Wajid Aminu added 16, Ivan Gandia-Rosa and J.T. Escobar 15 each and Garrett Sams 10. Aminu double-doubled with 12 rebounds, Gandia-Rosa added seven assists, Escobar hit four 3-pointers.

There were six ties and nine lead changes in the game -- all in the first half, which ended with North Florida ahead 39-34. FGCU's Christian Carlyle cut that to 39-36 with a jumper to open the second half, but Sams nailed consecutive 3s. The Eagles closed to 46-43, and Escobar knocked down a 3. A trey from Gandia-Rosa made the score 57-45 and North Florida led by double digits the rest of the way.

Carlyle led FGCU (5-13, 0-3) with 21 points and Shadrac Casimir added 10. The Eagles have lost five in a row.