The University of North Florida men’s basketball team nearly spoiled Georgia Southern’s first game in its new arena Saturday, erasing a 17-point deficit with 7:49 remaining before ultimately falling 93 -91 in overtime at the Jack and Ruth Ann Hill Convocation Center. in Statesboro, Georgia.
The Ospreys (6-4) trailed 72-55, but then went on an 18-2 run to cut the Eagles’ lead to 74-73 in less than four minutes.
Liam Murphy made two 3-pointers, the second with 3:41 left, and Jaylen Smith and Jasai Miles also made 3-pointers during the run and Miles had two steals leading to baskets.
Miles, a sophomore guard with career highs of 30 points and 11 rebounds, then made a 3 to tie the game 80-80 with 1:12 left. The Eagles’ Eren Banks responded with a basket 20 seconds later, but Smith made one of two free throws and Miles made a layup with six seconds left to give UNF its first lead of the game , 83-82.
However, Smith fouled Nakavieon White on a shot at the buzzer. White equalized with the first shot, but missed the second to send the match into overtime.
The Ospreys took an 88-84 lead, but GSU went on a 7-3 run, capped by a layup by White to tie the game 91-91 with 44 seconds left. Bradley Douglas scored in the paint with six seconds remaining and Smith missed a 3-point attempt at the buzzer.
The key for GSU is that not only did Miles not score in overtime, he also failed to make a shot. The Ospreys were also just 7 of 14 from the foul line and were 2 of 5 in the final 1:54 of regulation and overtime.
UNF defeated Warner 115-83 at home on Dec. 5, with freshman forward Josh Harris leading five players in double figures with a career-high 26 points on 11-of-14 shooting. He added 14 rebounds. Smith had 19 points and six assists.
Men’s summary: Jakari Spence proves he can score
Jacksonville (5-4): For the first eight games of the season, graduated senior guard Jakari Spence was content to distribute first and shoot second. But Dolphins coach Jordan Mincey is now certain Spence can score after scoring a team-high 20 points Dec. 5 in an 88-75 win over Florida Tech at Swisher Gym. Spence, a transfer from Monmouth, had scored in double figures just once this season before making 7 of 10 shots from the floor, making six of his baskets on layups while penetrating or in transition. He also found time to share the ball, with a season-high eight assists. Junior guard Robert McCray V had 17 points, six assists and four rebounds and junior forward Stephon Pane III had 14 points and seven rebounds.
Edward Waters (5-4, 1-1 in SIAC): The Tigers had five players in double figures to tie their conference record with an 83-72 victory at Kentucky State on December 2. Paxon graduate and senior guard Ja’Kobe Williams had 12 points, five rebounds and five assists and freshman forward Myles Hosten. had 10 points and 10 rebounds.
Flagler (5-2, 1-0 in the Peach Belt): Hilliard graduate Jaylen Jordan, a junior forward, had 19 points and eight rebounds to lead the Saints to an 89-82 victory over his former team, visiting Georgia Southwestern, to open the conference schedule. Senior guard Jax Bouknight and junior guard Max Hrdlicka had 14 points each.
Trinity-Baptist (1-6): The Eagles have probably had enough of the Hail Mary. Saturday’s 122-75 loss to the NAIA school near Fort Myers was the second in 12 days in which the Gyrenes scored in triple figures. They defeated Trinity 142-93 on November 25. In the two games, Ave Maria shot 37 of 84 from the 3-point line (44 percent). In Saturday’s games, TBC sophomore guard Diego Fernandez led with 17 points. He had 20 points earlier in the week in an 80-75 win over champion Christian of Hot Springs, Ark., and 21 in a 79-68 loss to Florida Gateway.
This week’s games
December 10
Jacksonville to Florida Atlantic, 7 p.m.
December 14
East Tennessee to Jacksonville, 3 p.m.
UNC-Greensboro at North Florida, 5 p.m.
Lane College (Tenn.) at Edward Waters, 5 p.m.
Women’s Roundup: Team Effort in EWU Comeback
Edward Waters (4-2, 1-1 in SIAC): Junior guard Mia Morel started. Seven teammates then joined in as the Tigers outscored Kentucky State 29-13 in the third quarter to pull away from a 26-26 halftime tie to win 72-53. Morel opened the period with 3 points on successive possessions and ultimately eight players scored in the quarter. After shooting 10 of 33 in the first half (30.3 percent), EWU shot 53 percent in the third period. Senior guard E’laijah Brown led with 14 points and junior guard Nekaya Williams and senior forward Simon Henshaw had 12 each.
Jacksonville (6-3): The Dolphins blew a 19-point halftime lead against Georgia Southern on Dec. 5, but scored seven of the final eight points to erase a one-point deficit with 1:13 remaining to beat the Eagles 56-51 . GSU outscored the Dolphins 13-2 in the third quarter and 11-1 in the first 5:49 of the fourth quarter to take a 45-43 lead, and led 50-49 with 73 seconds left. However, senior guard Edyn Battle converted a three-point play nine seconds later and she and graduate senior Makayla Edwards each made two free throws to keep JU in the lead. The battle had 22 points.
North Florida (2-8): The Ospreys continued to have problems with slow starts. In losses to Minnesota (90-44) and Florida A&M (85-57) last week, they were outscored 58-14 in the first half, shooting 7 of 25 (28 percent). UNF’s opponents shot 24 of 36 (67.7%) in the first quarter. Senior guard Kaila Rougier had 19 points and eight rebounds against the Rattlers.
Flagler (3-5, 0-1 in the Peach Belt): The Saints lost their conference opener 68-60 at home to Georgia Southwestern. The only double-digit scoring for Flagler came off the bench from senior guard Destiny McClendon (14 points) and junior forward Carleigh Grimm (12). … The Saints dominated visiting Fort Lauderdale 75-33 on Dec. 3, with freshman guard Jazmine Major leading the way with 11 points and four players scoring 10 each. Major also pulled down nine rebounds.
Trinity Baptiste (0-7): Junior forward Caroline Smith of Lake Butler scored a team-high 34 points this season in a loss as the Eagles fell to champion Christian 90-70 on Dec. 5. Smith made 11 of 18 from the field and 12 of 14 from the field. foul line. She added eight rebounds. Sophomore guard Ranjala Brown added 20 points and seven rebounds.
This week’s games
December 12
Trinity Baptist at Albany State (Georgia), 6 p.m.
December 13
Jacksonville to Marshall, 11 a.m.
December 14
UNC-Asheville at North Florida, 2 p.m.
Lane College (Tenn.) to Edward Waters, 3 p.m.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: First Coast college basketball: UNF storms back 17, overtime losses
