WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Dallas Moore scored 16 of his 24 points during the second half, and Demarcus Daniels added 17 as North Florida rallied from a nine-point deficit during the final 10 minutes Saturday to defeat Purdue 73-70.
A Daniels 3-point play with 1:31 to go gave the Ospreys (6-3) a 63-62 lead, and a Moore 3-pointer from the right corner with 53 seconds to go gave North Florida a 66-62 lead. It never trailed again.
A.J. Hammons led Purdue (6-2) with 16 points. Purdue had won three in a row and lost for the first time this season at Mackey Arena.
A 3-pointer from Beau Beech pulled the Ospreys to within 40-37 with 16:36 remaining, but a 3-pointer from Purdue's Kendall Stephens (10 points), two free throws from Stephens and interior baskets from Isaac Haas (14 points) and then Hammons helped the Boilermakers re-establish a 52-43 lead with 10:42 left.
Two more Stephens free throws with 8:48 to go gave Purdue a 54-46 advantage.
Purdue failed to score during the game's first 4:19, and North Florida used a pair of 3-pointers to seize an early 6-0 lead before Haas scored 12 points from the 15:41 mark until 12:08 remained in the first half, helping push the Boilermakers into a 15-10 advantage.
During the first half, Haas and Hammons combined to make 10 of 16 field goal attempts and score 22 points to go with six rebounds and two blocks. The centers played 18 combined minutes before halftime.
Purdue's 36-28 halftime lead could have been more substantial had the Boilermakers not been guilty of 11 turnovers during the opening 20 minutes. Those 11 turnovers led to 12 North Florida points.
The Boilermakers were dominant in the paint, outscoring the Ospreys 20-10 in that area during the first 20 minutes.
Demarcus Daniels came off the bench for 12 first-half points for North Florida.
TIP-INS
North Florida: The Ospreys are 1-1 this season against Big Ten opponents, losing 69-67 at Northwestern ... While North Florida is 4-0 in home/neutral site games, it is 2-4 on an opponent's court ... The Ospreys entered Saturday's game having attempted 181 shots from 3-point range in eight contests.
Purdue: Purdue now is 8-2 all-time against members of the Atlantic Sun Conference ... The Boilermakers had won 12 consecutive non-conference home games ... After sitting out Tuesday's North Carolina State game with an ankle sprain, sophomore point guard Bryson Scott returned to action Saturday, entering the game at the first half's 14:38 mark.
UP NEXT
North Florida plays host to Tennessee Tech on Dec. 15
Purdue will play host to Indiana-Purdue/Fort Wayne on Monday night.
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