JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - North Florida men's basketball handled crosstown rival Jacksonville, 77-73, inside UNF Arena on Thursday evening.
UNF completed the season sweep and has now won five out of the last six in the crosstown rivalry. Sophomore guard
Jasai Miles finished with an outstanding 20 points, including the game-clinching one-and-one free throws to put away the four-point win.
Jaylen Smith and
Nate Lliteras each added 12 points as well to follow Miles' lead in the point column.
Ametri Moss also had a stellar showing with 10 points, as most of them came during the second half of play.
UNF 77, JU 73
RECORDS
North Florida | 15-14, 8-8 ASUN
Jacksonville | 16-12, 10-6 ASUN
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
FIRST HALF: Sophomore
Jasai Miles dribbled into a transition three to make the score 7-5 in favor of Jacksonville at the initial media timeout. Back-to-back threes from freshman guard
Jaylen Smith and Miles on the next pair of possessions out of the timeout secured North Florida an 11-7 lead. Smith banked in a three to extend the margin to 19-10. The margin was cut to four at 22-18 at the under-eight media timeout. Jacksonville used an 8-0 run to retake the lead and secure a 30-24 advantage with 3:48 minutes left in the first half.
North Florida cut its deficit to 35-34 entering the halftime break.
SECOND HALF: Senior guard
Oscar Berry got the second half scoring started and evened the score at 37 with a three from the top of the arc. Five straight points from Miles extended the margin to 42-37 at the 15:47-minute mark of the second half. The stretch was a part of an 8-2 run over the initial 4:13 minutes out of the locker room. Graduate student forward
Liam Murphy buried a triple that forced a Jacksonville timeout and pushed the lead to 52-44 at the midway point of the second half. Jacksonville cut the margin back to two possessions at 61-57 with 7:30 minutes left in the second half. Smith hit a three to make it 73-67 with 1:45 minutes left in regulation. Miles knocked down a pair at the free throw line to push the lead to 77-73 with 6.3 seconds remaining, which led to the four-point victory.
LEADERS BY THE NUMBERS
UNF
Jasai Miles | 20 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists
Jaylen Smith | 12 points, 4 assists, 4 rebounds
Nate Lliteras | 12 points, 6 rebounds, 2 blocks, 2 steals
JU
Kendall Munson | 22 points, 11 rebounds, 2 assists
Robert McCray | 22 points, 4 assists
COACH'S THOUGHTS
NOTES
- Miles posted 20 points, his sixth game on the year with 20 or more points.
- He has now scored 10 or more points in 27 of 29 games, as he started 3-3 from three.
- Smith turned in 12 points to go along with four assists and rebounds each.
- Moss added 10 points, his fourth game reaching that mark this season.
- North Florida swept the season series and won five out of the last six in the crosstown rivalry.
UP NEXT
North Florida heads to Fort Myers, Fla., to face Florida Gulf Coast inside Alico Arena on Monday, Feb. 24, at 7 p.m.
