Florida Gulf Coast 70, North Florida 67

1/3/2008 9:04 PM

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) -Casey Wohlleb scored 22 points and Adam Liddell added 18 to lead Florida Gulf Coast to a 70-67 win over North Florida in the Atlantic Sun Conference opener for both teams.

It was the first conference win for the Eagles who joined the A-Sun this season.

Wohlleb scored 15 of his 24 points in the second half. He connected on 8-of-17 shots from the floor and 5-of-8 free throws. He made just one of two free throws with 7.3 seconds remaining to give North Florida a chance to tie the game.

But Tom Hammonds 3-point shot from the top of the key just before the buzzer hit the back of the rim and bounced away, extending North Florida's losing streak to 10 consecutive games.

Florida Gulf Coast (5-9, 1-0) stretched a 33-32 halftime lead to seven points by scoring three baskets in the first 90 seconds of the second half. The Eagles held the lead until a Justin Cecil jumper with 10:45 remaining gave North Florida (1-12, 0-1) its first lead since the opening minutes of the game.

The Eagles regained the lead less than a minute later however, and never trailed thereafter. North Florida cut the margin to two points at 69-67 on a pair of free throws by Cortez Riley with eight seconds remaining, but Wohlleb secured the win with a free throw a second later.

Hammonds led North Florida with 14 points with three other Osprey players contributing 11 points each.