LSU, North Florida enter matchup riding momentum

LSU won its last two games in the Charleston Classic last weekend in Charleston, S.C.

North Florida won its last two games in the First Coast Classic that it hosted last weekend in Jacksonville, Fla.

So both teams have some momentum as they prepare to meet Friday night in Baton Rouge. La.

The Tigers (3-2) lost a four-point lead in the final 30 seconds of regulation before beating Wake Forest 86-80 in overtime Sunday.

"When you don't close out a game like that (in regular time), most of the time you lose in overtime," LSU coach Matt McMahon said. "That shows me something about the character and toughness of our players."

The Tigers saw the Demon Deacons take their only lead of the game early in overtime, but LSU finished with a 12-4 run.

"I felt like we had the game won a couple of times," McMahon said. "But the only thing that matters is refocusing and finding a way to win in that five-minute overtime. I thought we showed resiliency."

Similar to the Tigers, the Ospreys (4-2) led for the majority of their game, but had a couple of anxious moments in a 67-58 victory over Maine on Saturday.

Chaz Lanier scored his team's first 14 points as they grabbed an eight-point lead on their way to a 38-28 halftime edge.

"When a guy gets cooking like that early," UNF coach Matthew Driscoll said, "you want to find that guy and keep it going until maybe one or two goes awry."

But Maine tied the score twice in the second half before the Ospreys regained control.

Lanier finished with a game-high 21 points and received plenty of help. Ametri Moss scored 14 points and Dorian James had 13 points. The Ospreys had a 36-24 advantage in rebounds.

"It was a team victory," Driscoll said. "I thought we really stayed within ourselves and everybody made big plays."

—Field Level Media