Beech, Nesbitt lift North Florida over Kennesaw State 86-67

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) Beau Beech and Jalen Nesbitt scored 17 points apiece to lead North Florida to an 86-67 win over Kennesaw State on Thursday night.

Beach had 12 points in the first half as the Osprey (14-9, 6-0, Atlantic Sun) shot 68 percent and raced to a 48-23 lead. Nesbitt had 13 of his points in the second half. Chris Davenport finished with 13 points and Trent Mackey added 12 off the bench.

Nigel Pruitt and Damien Wilson had 14 points each for the Owls (6-16, 1-5); Yonel Brown added 13 and Willy Kouassi 12.

DeMarcus Daniels hit a jumper barely five minutes into the game that put North Florida ahead 16-6 and was part of a 9-0 run that made it 23-6 with 12:38 left in the half. North Florida quickly added another 9-0 run to lead 32-13.

With a pair of Nesbitt free throws, the Osprey led 61-32 five minutes into the second half.