On the heels of its first ever win over an SEC program, the UNF men’s basketball team dominated the Charleston Southern University Buccaneers on Thursday night at UNF Arena, winning 90-66 to start 2-0 on the young season. 

The Ospreys shot nearly 52% from three-point range and had three players score 19 or more points. After an early shooting struggle, UNF used a second half surge to pull away from the Buccaneers and sweep the state of South Carolina. 

First Half

Right out of the gate, freshman forward Josh Harris scored the first six points for the Ospreys, leading UNF to a 6-5 advantage at the first timeout. A layup by senior guard Nate Lliteras and dunk by sophomore guard Jasai Miles extended North Florida’s lead to 12-7 with 14:05 left in the first half. 

Two threes, one by Harris and another by graduate student forward Liam Murphy, forced a Buccaneer timeout, with the Ospreys up 18-9 seven minutes into the game. The Buccaneers answered back, as guard RJ Johnson launched and made a pair of threes, leading to a 10-0 CSU run with the lead back in Charleston’s hands.

After multiple lead changes, the Ospreys were able to sustain the lead for good when Miles made a three, giving UNF a 27-25 lead with just under eight minutes left in the first half. UNF began a flurry of threes; three of them went in, adding to UNF’s 33-27 advantage. 

North Florida tried to build on its lead, but CSU kept the game close, resulting in a 42-35 halftime score. 

Second Half

UNF opened the second half on a 7-2 run, courtesy of two layups and a three-pointer by Miles. Then, the next two-plus minutes were the Murphy show. The Columbia transfer scored North Florida’s next 11 points thanks to a barrage of three-pointers and one jumper. 

Head coach Matthew Driscoll spoke with Murphy at halftime about his body language. The conversation evidently worked as Murphy erupted for 19 points in the game. 

“You’re never going to make it if you don’t fix your body language,” Driscoll said. “Just go shoot, I brought you here to do this.”

Leading 61-45, the Ospreys continued their three-point onslaught as junior guard Kamrin Oriol joined the party with a tray of his own. Overall, the Ospreys shot 90% from deep in the second half, almost 60% higher than the first. 

“At halftime we flipped it a little bit, talking about taking good [shots],” Driscoll said. “All we said was let’s get ‘em when we share it and when we’re in flow.

Postgame Reaction

The Ospreys ended up winning 90-66 to start 2-0 for the second straight season. Following the game, Driscoll credited his team for turning their focus to their current game following such an emotional win. 

“Put things behind you and look forward to what lies ahead,” Driscoll said. “And that was all we talked about the last three days.”

In the Ospreys’ blowout home-opener win, Harris scored 23 points, the most by a UNF freshman since 2016. Miles, who played with Harris in high school, credited his work ethic. 

“[Josh] has always played hard, always going after every rebound, he’s always going to go and score,” said Miles. 

Having a veteran forward like Lliteras on the team has also helped Harris’s early progression as a freshman.

“Since I got here in the summer, he’s always helping me with the plays, helping me with moves,” Harris said. 

The Ospreys will move along to face Georgia Tech on Nov. 10 at 1 p.m. in Atlanta.