JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - North Florida men's basketball built up a 25-point lead in the first half of play against Jacksonville and held off a comeback from the Dolphins in a 81-78 road nail-biter on Saturday evening.
With the win against JU, the Ospreys are now tied against them in their all-time series with a 22-22 mark over 44 editions of the River City Rumble. UNF has now taken four of the last five matchups, as well as nine of the past 13 games against the Dolphins.
Liam Murphy was the leading scorer and the go-to guy from behind the line for UNF with 18 points, including four made treys to help bring home the victory from across town.
Jasai Miles also shined with his fifth double-double of the season with 13 points and 10 rebounds, while
Kamrin Oriol and
Nate Lliteras hit double-digits scoring.
UNF 81, JU 78
RECORDS
North Florida | 12-11, 5-5 ASUN
Jacksonville | 13-9, 8-3 ASUN
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
FIRST HALF: Josh Harris and
Jaylen Smith teamed up for the first buckets of the game to take an early 6-2 lead at Swisher...after Smith's three,
Nate Lliteras,
Kamrin Oriol and
Liam Murphy teamed up to make it four consecutive treys boosting the margin to 12 points...layups from Murphy and
Ametri Moss kept JU at bay until Murphy and Lliteras added on deep shots to take a resounding 25-7 lead...Harris had a share of buckets going back-to-back, followed with consecutive threes from Oriol to expand the Ospreys to a 40-15 lead...three more treys ended the half from Murphy and
Jasai Miles, as UNF went into the half up by 21 points.
SECOND HALF: Out of the break, Lliteras and Miles each hit a jumper and trey to take it to a 24-point lead...JU went on a small run to continue to opening of the second half, but Harris kept the Dolphins in check with a score...JU continued to build a comeback, but Smith put in a layup, followed with a knockdown three ball from Oriol...Smith continued an excellent start to the second half draining a three with a hand in his face...down to a four-point contest with five minutes left, Murphy and Lliteras hit clutch shots to take the lead to eight at the final media timeout...another three from Murphy added on an 8-0 run in the final minutes of the game...a break-away slam from
Nate Lliteras helped solidify a bigger lead for UNF...up by three, the Ospreys were able to make a stop on defense to secure a victory in the first round of the River City Rumble.
LEADERS BY THE NUMBERS
UNF
Liam Murphy | 18 points, 2 rebounds
Kamrin Oriol | 14 points, 3 rebounds, 2 steals
Jasai Miles | 13 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists
Nate Lliteras | 12 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists
JU
Robert McCray V | 26 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals
Zimi Nwokeji | 19 points, 8 rebounds
COACH'S THOUGHTS
NOTES
- UNF has now evened the all-time series, 22-22, against JU with wins in four of their past five matchups.
- The Ospreys also lead the Dolphins with nine wins over their past 13 games against each other as well.
- Murphy recorded his 18th game of double figures scoring, as well as his sixth over the last seven games.
- Miles totaled 13 points and 10 rebounds for his fifth double-double and second in four games.
- Harris and Lliteras each brought down eight rebounds a piece as well.
- Ospreys totaled 49 points in the first half, which is the most given up by JU in an opening half since they played Georgia on Nov. 30.
- It's also the most points scored in an opening half for UNF since Nov. 10 against Georgia Tech.
- The defense from UNF was also on point allowing 28 in the first half, the least in a half since last season's River City Rumble against JU.
- UNF had elite shooting numbers in the first half notching 50% (17-for-34) from the field and 52.4% (11-for-21) from range.
UP NEXT
North Florida gets another weekend in Jacksonville with Bellarmine coming to town on Thursday, Feb. 6, at 8 p.m., in UNF Arena.
