JACKSONVILLE, Fla.- North Florida (1-1) broke open a close game with a 11-0 run to start the second half as the Ospreys handed Savannah State their first loss of the young season, 57-46 in UNF Arena before a crowd of 1,429.

North Florida led 20-19 at the half but the 11 unanswered points stretched their lead to 12 points with 14:33 remaining.

SSU counted with seven straight points to pull within 31-26 as Cedric Smith hit a pair of free throws followed by a 3-pointer from Preston Blackman and a layup by Marcus Chawa.

That would be as close as SSU would get the rest of the night as the Ospreys ran their lead to 10 points with 10:41 left and held a 12 point advantage with 3:21 remaining.

The Tigers would close their gap to seven with 31 seconds left as Tracy Rankins made a layup and converted the free throw before UNF finished the game with four free throws and a 11 point victory.

UNF won despite not hitting a field goal the final 2:39 of the contest.

Rankins led SSU (2-1) with 17 points and four assists. Blackman had eight points and five steals while Louis Arnold had eight rebounds and four points.

After shooting a respectable 40.9 percent from the floor in the first half, SSU dipped to 28.6 percent in the second period.

The Ospreys out-rebounded SSU 35 to 26.

In the first half, UNF jumped out to a 10-4 lead before the Tigers rallied to take a 14-10 lead with 8:47 on the clock.

SSU led 19-16 with 3:27 left in the period but the Ospreys scored the final four points for a one point lead at intermission.

UNF shot 57.1 percent from the floor in the second period and was led by Jerron Granberry's 16 points.