DELAND, Fla. - North Florida men's basketball (7-9, 0-1) endured a constant back-and-forth battle that saw 18 lead changes, but the Ospreys fell just short in a thrilling conference opener at Stetson (9-6, 1-0), 75-74, on Thursday night.
Nate Lliteras led the team in scoring after dropping 18 points while coming up with two blocks.
Chaz Lanier,
Dorian James and Lliteras combined for 17 total rebounds, along with Lanier pacing the team in minutes with 37 total on his way to recording his 15th double-digit scoring outing in 16 games.
FINAL SCORE
North Florida (7-9, 0-1) | 74
Stetson (9-6, 1-0) | 75
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
First Half
Ametri Moss found himself at the free-throw line early, getting the Ospreys on the board…
Jasai Miles started hot after sinking his first shot from three, followed by a layup from James…UNF kept firing from range with treys from Miles and Lliteras…
Jake van der Heijden grabbed his first points of the evening with back-to-back treys that put the Ospreys up by five…Lanier picked up his first two points from the free-throw line...James drove in his second layup before Miles sunk his third three…The Hatters would go on a 9-0 run to take a ten-point advantage…James found the basket yet again, while Moss and Lanier combined for five points to get UNF within three…Moss tied the game up with just over a minute remaining before van der Heijden hit the go-ahead three to give the Ospreys a 39-38 lead entering halftime.
Second Half
The Ospreys wasted no time to start the second period, as Lanier slammed a dunk within ten seconds…Lliteras hit consecutive buckets before Moss recorded his ninth point of the evening…Lanier hit a quick-fire three from the corner, followed with a bucket from James after being fouled at the rim… James sank his first trey of the game, while Lanier drove home a layup for his 12th point…van der Heijden fired home his fourth trey to extend the Ospreys lead to seven...Lliteras produced his tenth point of the game before sinking a trey from the corner to put UNF up by ten…Lliteras hit a jumper to make it 15 points and Miles added two more buckets from charity stripe…Lliteras drilled his fourth three from the opposite corner to keep the Ospreys up by six…Stetson brought it within one before Lanier scored a jumper to bring the lead back to three points…two free throws and a bucket with eight seconds remaining gave the Hatters the lead and the eventual victory, 75-74.
BY THE NUMBERS
North Florida
Nate Lliteras | 18 points, 5 rebounds, 2 blocks
Chaz Lanier | 14 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists
Jake van der Heijden | 12 points, 2 rebounds
Stetson
Stephen Swenson | 21 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists
Alec Oglesby | 13 points
Aubin Gateretse | 10 points, 13 rebounds, 2 blocks
COACH DRISCOLL'S COMMENTS
NOTABLES
- The game saw a total of 18 lead changes.
- Miles made his second consecutive start and third of the season.
- van der Heijden shot 4-for-5 from beyond the arc.
- Lanier played a season-high 37 minutes.
UP NEXT
North Florida wraps up a five-game road trip taking on FGCU at Alico Arena on Saturday, Jan. 6, with tip-off set for 7 p.m., in Fort Myers, Fla.
