Northwestern 69, North Florida 67: Tre Demps hit the game-winning step-back jumper with 2.5 seconds left as the host Wildcats held off the Ospreys.

Bryant McIntosh scored 16 points and Demps added 15 off the bench for Northwestern (3-0). Sanjay Lumpkin added 13 points on 5-of-7 shooting.

Dallas Moore had 18 points and five assists and Chris Davenport scored 17 for North Florida (1-2). Davenport was 7-of-8 from the field and the Ospreys shot 51 percent overall.

A 3-pointer by Dave Sobolewski gave the Wildcats a 44-38 advantage with 14:03 to play before North Florida answered with a 14-2 burst to take a 52-46 lead with 9:22 remaining. Moore’s basket made it 61-54 before Northwestern rallied and took a 67-65 lead on Demps’ basket with 51 seconds left before Moore hit a tying shot with 34 seconds to play.

Northwestern led 16-9 five minutes into the game after Vic Law’s 3-pointer but the Ospreys would soon overcome the margin. North Florida rolled off nine straight points to take a 27-24 lead on Jalen Nesbitt’s layup with 5:02 left in the half before the Wildcats closed with a 7-2 run to lead 31-29 at the break.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Northwestern G JerShon Cobb had just five points on 2-of-6 shooting. … Nesbitt contributed nine points and eight rebounds for North Florida. … McIntosh hit all four of his 3-point attempts and the Wildcats were 10-of-23 overall.