The University of North Florida men’s basketball team fell to 6-7 in conference play Thursday after losing 83-70 to North Alabama. Senior guard Nate Lliteras collected a team high 20 points and 5 rebounds in the losing effort.

First Half

Lliteras began the scoring for the Ospreys, hitting a 3-pointer and a mid-range jumper early, but UNF still found themselves trailing 10-5 with 15:54 left in the first half.

Over the next four minutes, the Lions quickly extended their lead to 21-9, forcing the Osprey coaching staff to call a timeout. The Osprey offense struggled early, going 0-5 from deep after the first Lliteras shot from beyond the arc.

The Ospreys responded, coming out of the break on an 8-2 run that included free throws and another long-range effort from Lliteras to bring the game back to within five.

Lions duo Daniel Ortiz and DarKaun King re-extended the lead to 27-17 for North Alabama with a jumper and an open layup. Graduate forward Liam Murphy helped keep the game close with a three with 5:50 left in the first half.

Lions guard Taye Fields leapt up for a dunk that fired up the home crowd and put pressure on the Ospreys to respond, but Murphy continued to shoot well, hitting another long shot to cut the North Alabama lead to 31-23.

UNF battled going into the half-time break, as sophomore guard Jasai Miles made a jumper with 42 seconds left, and senior guard Ametri Moss drove to the rim for a tough layup to cut the Lions lead to 37-32 going into the locker rooms.

Second Half

The Lions came out of the break hot, extending their lead to 10 within the first two minutes of the half. Miles began to heat up, sinking a deep three with 16:41 left to make it 50-41 going into the first media timeout of the second half.

Despite freshman forward Josh Harris nabbing four quick points with 13:17 left, the Lions were still in control heading into the next timeout, leading 56-45.

North Alabama then began to run away with the contest, as Daniel Ortiz hit consecutive threes, forcing the Osprey coaching staff to call an emergency timeout with UNF trailing 65-48. Lions guard Jacari Lane got four quick points of his own, with two free throws and a layup, to give North Alabama a 19-point lead.

The Ospreys showed signs of life late, with threes from Lliteras and sophomore guard Jaylen Smith to bring the Lions lead down to 71-55 going into the next media timeout.

Another Lliteras deep shot made it 73-60 to put the Ospreys within striking distance. Still, North Alabama responded right back with a jumper from Jacari Lane to extend their lead back to 15, with just under four minutes left in the contest.

The two sides kept battling back and forth, but the Ospreys couldn’t cut the gap to any closer than 13, as the final whistle blew to confirm UNF’s seventh loss in ASUN (Atlantic Sun) play.

Up Next

The Ospreys travel to the Farris Center to face off against Central Arkansas this Saturday, Feb. 15. Tip-off is scheduled for 4:30 pm

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