The UNF Men’s basketball team dropped its second-straight game, losing 89-75 to UNC Asheville on a Monday night at UNF Arena. 

UNF faltered offensively in the first half, shooting almost 10% less than the Bulldogs. The Ospreys rebounded in the second half, improving its shooting clip by nearly seven percent. But an even more efficient Bulldog offense in the final frame proved the difference in this game. 

First Half

UNC Asheville opened on an 8-2 run thanks to one layup and one jumper by big man Toyaz Soloman. After this, four different Ospreys contributed to an 11-2 run capped off by a Jasai Miles layup. UNF now led 13-10 just over six minutes into the game. 

Junior Kamrin Oriol knocked down a three-pointer to extend UNF’s lead to six, 18-12. This ended up being the Ospreys largest lead of the game. After a 6-0 Bulldog run to tie the game, Oriol sunk another three to give UNF the lead back. Just past the halfway point, the game turned into a back-and-forth affair. 

Both teams traded baskets, with most of the Bulldog’s points coming in the paint. UNF’s three-point shooting became an advantage as Lliteras and Liam Murphy’s back-to-back threes prompted UNF to retake the lead, 27-25. 

After one three by each team, the score was tied at 30. UNC Asheville attempted to pull away by going on a 7-2 run, but UNF responded with an Oriol layup and a Miles three. UNF trailed by two points at halftime, 39-37, despite shooting under 37% from the field. 

Second Half

Freshman Josh Harris and sophomore Jaylen Smith combined for nine of North Florida’s first ten points to open the second half. This culminated in a one-point UNF lead almost four minutes into the final frame. 

Following this, the game started to get out of hand. In less than four minutes, UNCA dominated with a barrage of layups and threes, fueling a 14-0 run. UNF was now losing by 13 with 13 minutes remaining. 

Even so, UNF wouldn’t go down easily. The Ospreys responded with seven unanswered points to cut the deficit back to single digits. Three different UNF players: Ametri Moss, Harris, and Miles contributed to the run. However, UNCA was still leading, 60-54 nearly midway through the half. 

The Bulldogs pushed the lead back to 13, but then UNF responded with its famous three-pointer barrage. Three of the Osprey’s next four buckets were three-point shots, all scored by three players. Oriol, Lliteras, and Smith contributed to an 11-point scoring spurt, which resulted in a 73-65 game with six minutes to go. 

A pair of Lliteras three-point shots reduced UNCA’s lead to seven. However, UNF failed to cut the Bulldog’s lead below seven. 

This resulted in a fouling game where UNF tried to get the Bulldogs to miss free throws. The strategy worked temporarily, as UNCA missed two one-and-one opportunities. But North Florida failed to capitalize on the missed shots, and UNC Asheville made its last five from the charity stripe, which led to an 89-75 loss. 

Following the game, head coach Matthew Driscoll credited UNC Asheville’s rebounding ability.

“No team, Power 4 or whatever, beat us on the glass like [UNC Asheville] did tonight,” Driscoll said. 

UNF’s bread and butter under Driscoll has been three-point shooting. In this game, UNF shot around 33% from that range. Driscoll believes the shooting can improve. 

“We shot 33%,” Driscoll said. “This team is better than that.”

On the defensive side, Driscoll thinks his team gave up “way too many clean looks.”

“To [UNC Asheville’s] credit, they beat us in every phase,” Driscoll said. “They earned this win for sure.”

Despite Driscoll taking ownership of the loss, Lliteras finds the team responsible for the defeat. 

“It was on us as a team,” Lliteras said. “[Driscoll] delivered like he always does with prep and scout but we didn’t deliver on our end with effort and intensity.”

UNF drops to 3-2, and UNC Asheville improves to 1-2. 

The Ospreys won’t have to wait long to avenge this loss. UNF will only have to wait one month. In a rare in-season home-and-home, the Ospreys will play the Bulldogs once again, on Dec. 17 at 6:30 p.m. This time, however, the game is in Asheville, North Carolina.

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