FLORENCE, Ala. - North Florida men's basketball had already defeated two first-place ASUN teams on the road this season, but the Ospreys were unable to do so against North Alabama, falling 83-70 inside Main Flowers Hall on Thursday.

UNF senior guard Nate Lliteras posted a team-high 20 points on 7-for-10 shooting from the field and three three-pointers. Lliteras also grabbed five rebounds and dished out three assists.

Sophomore guard Jasai Miles followed with 13 points, five rebounds and four assists. Graduate forward Liam Murphy and freshman forward Josh Harris rounded out the double-digit scorers for the Ospreys with 11 points apiece.

UNA 83, UNF 70

RECORDS

North Florida | 13-13, 6-7 ASUN
North Alabama | 18-8, 10-3 ASUN 

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

FIRST HALF: North Florida trailed 10-5 four minutes in as Lliteras kept UNF afloat with a three-pointer and midrange jumper…the Ospreys trailed by 12 at the 11:58 mark before going on an 8-2 run with three free throws and a three-pointer coming from Lliteras in that span to cut UNA's lead to 23-17…Murphy got red hot down the stretch, making three three-pointers in just over two minutes that saw UNF trail 31-25 with 3:37 remaining…senior guard Ametri Moss made a shifty buzzer-beating layup that shrunk UNA's lead to 39-32 entering halftime.
 
SECOND HALF: Harris and sophomore guard Jaylen Smith scored a pair of layups in the opening minutes to keep the Ospreys within 10 points of UNA…Miles knocked down a deep three-pointer at the 16:47 mark as North Florida trailed 48-41…Miles made a layup four minutes later that cut UNF's deficit to single digits…from there, North Alabama went on a 14-3 run and was able to hold off the Ospreys down the stretch.

LEADERS BY THE NUMBERS

UNF
Nate Lliteras | 20 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists
Jasai Miles | 13 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists
Liam Murphy | 11 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists
Josh Harris | 11 points, 5 rebounds
 
UNA
Jacari Lane | 21 points, 7 assists, 3 rebounds
Daniel Ortiz | 18 points, 4 rebounds

NOTES

• UNF started 0-3 in ASUN play but is 6-4 since.
• The Ospreys opened 1-for-12 from three-point range before going on a hot 4-for-5 stretch in the first half.
• North Florida trailed by 12 in the first half but cut its deficit to seven points at halftime.
• Murphy improved his mark as the ASUN leader in three-pointers made with three long balls on Thursday.
• Smith dished out five assists and entered as the ASUN leader in assists per game this season.
• North Florida scored 38 points inside the paint.

UP NEXT

North Florida travels to Conway, Ark., to take on Central Arkansas on Saturday, Feb. 15, inside the Farris Center.