RICHMOND, Ky. - In a battle between the two of the top teams in the conference, North Florida men's basketball (12-10, 5-2) didn't have enough gas in the tank to stay with Eastern Kentucky (11-9, 7-0) on the road in a 89-76 loss on Saturday afternoon.
The Ospreys suffered its first loss of the season since the ASUN opener on the road against Stetson.
Jaylen Smith had his best scoring game as an Osprey with a career-high 19 points, while
Chaz Lanier matched the total of 19 points to reach that mark for a sixth consecutive game among conference opponents.
EKU 89, UNF 76
RECORDS
North Florida | 12-10, 5-2 ASUN
Eastern Kentucky | 11-9, 7-0 ASUN
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
First Half: UNF had an electric start on the road with an alley-one in the opening seconds to Lanier, followed with a three-pointer from Smith...
Nate Lliteras had the next pair of makes with a three and layup to expand the lead the six...
Dorian James and Smith each made three-pointers in a back-and-forth between EKU...in a four-point game,
Oscar Berry had opportunities to rack up three points, along with a James score...
Jake van der Heijden joined in with a made three to go along with James working in the paint for two...the Ospreys and Colonels had their late first-half stretch of eight made threes between the two teams with Smith and Lanier making those shots to be trailing by three at the half.
Second Half: Ospreys started the second half much like the first with the first points out of the break from
Jasai Miles and James...Lanier made his first three of the half to take a one-point lead, followed with James and Lanier returning with buckets...EKU had a stretch run to take the lead, but
Jake van der Heijden hit a trey to keep the deficit at two...Smith and Lliteras combined for nine points over a stretch of five minutes to stay within single digits on the road...Lanier made a couple baskets in the remaining minutes, but EKU was able to hold in what was a 89-76 loss for the Ospreys against the top team in the ASUN.
LEADERS BY THE NUMBERS
UNF
Jaylen Smith | 19 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals
Chaz Lanier | 19 points, 5 rebounds
Dorian James | 13 points, 2 rebounds, 2 blocks
Nate Lliteras | 11 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists
EKU
Leland Walker | 29 points, 5 assists, 4 rebounds, 2 steals
Isaiah Cozart | 18 points, 4 rebounds, 3 blocks
Devontae Blanton | 17 points, 3 assists
Michael Moreno | 10 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals
COACH'S THOUGHTS
NOTES
- Career-high scoring mark for Smith with 19 points on the road against EKU.
- Fourth time this season scoring double digits and first against an ASUN team.
- Lanier racked up another doubled figure game in 38 minutes played.
- He earned his sixth consecutive games with at least 19 points and was one point shy of his fifth straight 20+ point game.
- Max Hrdlicka led the team in rebounds with six total for the first time in his career.
- Ospreys had four double-digit scorers with James and Lliteras joining the mix.
UP NEXT
North Florida gets set to host a midweek matchup against another top ASUN team when they play Lipscomb on Wednesday, Jan. 31, with tip-off set for 7 p.m., at UNF Arena.
