Beech scores 27, North Florida tops Lipscomb 75-66

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) Beau Beech finished with 27 points, six rebounds and two blocks to lead North Florida to a 75-66 win over Lipscomb on Saturday.

Jalen Nesbitt, who hit 13 of 16 free throws, had 19 points and seven rebounds, and Trent Mackey scored 12 for North Florida (13-9, 5-0 Atlantic Sun). The Ospreys finished 27 of 30 (90 percent) from the free throw line.

Josh Williams had 21 points, including three 3-pointers, Malcolm Smith added 13 and six rebounds and J.C. Hampton scored 12 for Lipscomb (10-10, 4-1). Talbott Denny added 11 points for the Bisons.

Lipscomb took a 10-point lead at halftime, but Beech hit four 3s during a 20-3 run to open the second half and North Florida pulled ahead by seven at the 13:48 mark. Up four with under a minute left, North Florida held on with a 7-2 run to finish.