CHARLOTTE, N.C. - North Florida men's basketball (14-13, 7-5) rebounded from its recent struggles with a high-octane offense on the road to defeat Queens (N.C.) (10-17, 4-8), 93-79, on Wednesday evening.
The Ospreys scored the most points against a D-I opponent against Queens with 93 points, which surpassed the 91 points from earlier this season against the Royals. Four players reached double figures in scoring, led by
Chaz Lanier with another remarkable performance with 29 points.
Jah Nze broke out with a career-high 22 points going 7-for-13 from the field and 3-for-6 from three-point range.
Chaz Lanier was one point shy of his fifth 30-point game on the season to go along with nine rebounds.
UNF 93, QUE 79
RECORDS
North Florida | 14-13, 7-5 ASUN
Queens (N.C.) | 10-17, 4-8 ASUN
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
First Half
Ospreys jump out to an early eight-point lead after three consecutive makes from Lanier, along with a bucket from
Jasai Miles...Lanier hit a three as well to get nine points within the first four minutes of the game...another run was made with 11 straight points sparked by Nze and ended with threes from
Jaylen Smith and
Nate Lliteras...
Dorian James and
Jake van der Heijden scored to keep the double-digit lead...Nze and Lanier stayed hot with baskets of their own as well...Lanier went back to the three-point line for another long make, followed with one by Smith 18 seconds later...Smith scored five more points after that, as the half closed with a layup from
Trent Coleman to go up 15 at the break.
Second Half
Lliteras hit a floater in the paint to record the first field goal out of the break for UNF...Nze went on to score 12 of the next 15 points for the Ospreys with a pair of makes from range, along with an and-one bucket...van der Heijden returned with a long catch-and-shoot three to expand it to the largest lead of the game at 23 points...Lanier and Lliteras remained scorching hot from range with back-to-back threes...Lanier then went back-to-back on dunks to keep the lead near 20 points with just under five minutes left...the final 11 points of the game were scored by Lanier to secure the 93-79 win on the road at Queens.
LEADERS BY THE NUMBERS
UNF
Chaz Lanier | 29 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists
Jah Nze | 22 points, 3 rebounds
Nate Lliteras | 13 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocks
Jaylen Smith | 11 points
QUE
AJ McKee | 30 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals
Kalib Mathews | 14 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals
BJ McLaurin | 8 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists
Bryce Cash | 8 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists
COACH'S THOUGHTS
NOTES
- Lanier now has 13 games with over 20 points, including nine of 12 games so far in ASUN play.
- Nze dropped a career-high 22 points in his first conference appearance of more than four minutes.
- It was also the sixth time this season hitting double figures and the first since recording 17 points against Trinity Baptist on Dec. 16, 2023.
- Most points scored against the D-I opponent this season and second time scoring 90+ against Queens on the season.
- First win since facing Lipscomb on Jan. 31 to break a three-game losing streak and first win on the road since Bellarmine on Jan. 25.
UP NEXT
North Florida continues its weekend on the road with a matchup set against Kennesaw State on Saturday, Feb. 17, with tip-off set for 7 p.m, in Kennesaw, Ga.
