College basketball week ahead: UNF is on a roll entering a crucial stretch of ASUN games
The ASUN men's basketball race is tightening after all 12 teams completed their fifth conference games this weekend.
And the University of North Florida is right in the middle of it — tied for second with Kennesaw at 4-1, a game behind leader Eastern Kentucky.
UNF (11-9 overall) currently holds the head-to-head tiebreaker with the Owls after beating them 84-75 on Thursday and then demolishing Queens 91-75 on Saturday, both games at UNF Arena. The week before, UNF beat Jacksonville and Florida Gulf Coast.
After the Ospreys and the Owls, four teams are 3-2: Lipscomb, Austin Peay, Central Arkansas and Stetson. Florida Gulf Coast is 2-3 which means seven teams are within three games or closer to EKU with 11 games left.
UNF coach Matthew Driscoll doesn't like looking ahead. One of his many mantras is "be 1-0" every game.
But he said the ASUN is "a monster" and said any given stretch of conference games will be difficult.
"Every single night, everybody plays the same," he said after the Ospreys' victory over Queens. "They all shoot 3s, plays as fast as they can ... what I know is that the more we can be galvanized ... we're going to enjoy this. It was a heck of a win, a heck of a second half and on Monday we're going to prepare for what's next."
The Ospreys will play at Bellarmine (0-5) on Thursday at Freedom Hall in Louisville but Driscoll said the Knights, who won the ASUN title two years ago, aren't to be dismissed because they've had injury problems and are always problematic because of their quirky motion offense.
After that UNF plays at EKU, returns home to face Lipscomb, goes back on the road to play Austin Peay, and then is home for Northern Alabama and Central Arkansas.
Four of the next six teams the Ospreys play are 3-2 or better in the ASUN.
UNF is the second-hottest team in the league behind EKU with four victories in a row, after a two-point loss at Stetson.
The Ospreys may have played their finest half of the season after leading Queesn 38-31 at halftime. They shot 61.3 percent in the second half overall and 53.3 percent from beyond the 3-point arc in building a 26-point lead at one point, had only seven turnovers among the players in the eight-man rotation for the entire game, got five players in double figures, seven with at least one 3-pointer (16 of 37 overall) and five players had at least two assists.
Junior guard Chaz Lanier has had three 20-point games in a row, senior forward Dorian James averages 14.8 points and 5.8 rebounds and is shooting 75 percent over his last five games (he has made 11 consecutive shots from the floor entering Thursday's game) and Max Hrdlicka and Jake van der Heijden had combined to score 47 points and shoot 17 of 27 overall and 11 of 17 from beyond the arc in the last two games.
But Driscoll said the unsung hero is 5-foot-11 freshman point guard Jaylen Smith, who took over from the injured Ametri Moss during the loss to Stetson. During UNF's four-game winning streak, Smith is averaging 6.4 points and 4.5 assists per game and has only five turnovers.
"Three games in a row, we told [Smith] they were going to try to punk him and take his heart with an experienced, higher-level JUCO dude," Driscoll said of Smith, who is from Ocoee. "This, from a guy who was playing backup minutes. I couldn't be more proud of him."
Men: Lanier hitting the big shots for UNF
Player of the week: Lanier had 45 points on 17 of 29 shooting (58.6 percent) in the Ospreys’ two victories last week. He shot 8 of 13 61.5) from beyond the 3-point arc and added 11 rebounds. Lanier had 25 points, six rebounds and four assists in the victory over Kennesaw.
Stat line of the week: Jacksonville sophomore guard Robert McCray scored 28 points and shot 8 of 13 from the floor and 11 of 14 from the foul line in the Dolphins’ 79-77 victory over Queens.
This week’s games
Monday
Morehouse College (Ga.) at Edward Waters, 7:30 p.m.
Tuesday
Trinity Baptist at Florida Gateway, 7 p.m.
Wednesday
Flagler at Columbus State (Ga.), 7:30 p.m.
Thursday
Trinity Baptist at Trinity College (Fla.), 6 p.m.
North Florida at Bellarmine, 6:30 p.m.
Jacksonville at Eastern Kentucky, 7 p.m.
Saturday
USC-Beaufort at Flagler, 3:30 p.m.
Jacksonville at Bellarmine, 4 p.m.
North Florida at Eastern Kentucky, 4 p.m.
Savannah State at Edward Waters, 5 p.m.
Noting UNF (11-9, 4-1): The Ospreys are off to their best start in the ASUN since beginning 5-1 in 2020. ... The current coaching staff of Driscoll, Bobby Kennen, Bruce Evans and Steve Perkins won their 228th game together against Queens, an ASUN record. ... The Ospreys are 1-2 against Thursday’s opponent, Bellarmine (all in the ASUN) and 1-2 against Saturday's opponent Eastern Kentucky, with a split of two games as conference opponents.
Noting JU (10-9, 1-4 ASUN): The Dolphins took one step forward and one step back, losing at home to Kennesaw 83-79 after beating Queens for their first conference victory of the season. JU is off to its worst start in ASUN play since beginning 1-4 in 2019. ... Junior guard Gyasi Powell, a Bishop Snyder graduate, scored 19 points against Queens and 20 against KSU, making 7 of 12 on 3-point attempts. ... The Dolphins have dismal records against their two opponents this week, going winless in five games all-time against Bellarmine and 1-3 vs. Eastern Kentucky.
Noting Edward Waters (7-10, 6-4 SIAC): The Tigers had another heartbreaker on Saturday with a 75-74 loss to Clark Atlanta. Chris Martin put Clark ahead by three with two foul shots with 1:01 left the Tigers missed two shots in the paint in the final 12 seconds. EWC is 5-3 in games decided by single digits. Junior guard Adonis Tolbert had 18 points and 10 rebounds. ... Earlier in the week the Tigers had a season-high in points with a 102-81 rout of Fort Valley State (Ga.). Freshman forward Amari Floyd had 25 points and made 5 of 6 3-point shots and sophomore guard Trevino Glover added 17 points and made 5 of 8 from beyond the arc. EWC made 14 of 27 3s as a team.
Noting Trinity Baptist (5-7, 2-4 NCCAA South Region II): The Eagles fell in two high-scoring games last week, 100-93 to Pensacola Christian at home and 98-90 to Johnson (Fla.) in Kissimmee. Sophomore guard Diego Fernandez had 25 points and junior guard Jace Spinelli had 17 off the bench against PBC and Fernandez went for 27 points and junior guard Xavier Rose had 22 against Johnson. Fernandez made 17 of 26 shots (65.3 percent)
Noting Flagler (10-6, 3-3 Peach Belt): The Saints have evened their conference record after an 0-3 start, toppling Augusta 75-62 on Wednesday and Clayton (Ga.) State 79-74 on Saturday. Senior guard Malik Bryant had 23 points and four assists against Clayton and made all nine of his field-goal attempts. ... Junior guard Destin Clark had 19 points and eight rebounds against Clayton and 26 points and six rebounds against Augusta.
Women: Touze has another big week for Trinity
Player of the week: Freshman center Madlyn Touze of Trinity Baptist had 41 points and 31 rebounds and shot 18 of 34 from the floor in two victories last week for the Eagles. In a 79-66 victory over Pensacola Christian, Touze had 24 points 18 rebounds and five steals.
Stat line of the week: Flagler junior guard Sharale McCormack had 28 points and 10 rebounds in a 66-58 loss to Augusta College at home on Wednesday. She tied the school record by making 13 of 14 free-throw attempts and her first double-double of the season.
This week’s games
Wednesday
Flagler at Columbus State (Ga.), 5:30 p.m.
Thursday
Trinity Baptist at Trinity College (Fla.), 4 p.m.
Eastern Kentucky at Jacksonville, 5:30 p.m.
Bellarmine at North Florida, 7 p.m.
Saturday
New College (Fla.) at Trinity Baptist, 12 p.m.
USC-Beaufort at Flagler, 1:30 p.m.
Bellarmine at Jacksonville, 2 p.m.
Eastern Kentucky at North Florida, 2 p.m.
Savannah State at Edward Waters, 3 p.m.
Noting UNF (7-11, 1-3 ASUN): The Ospreys will play host to Bellarmine on Thursday and Eastern Kentucky on Saturday before playing four of their next six games on the road. UNF’s 65-59 loss at Bellarmine in their only meeting last year broke a three-game winning streak against the Knights. UNF is 2-2 vs. EKU.
Noting JU (5-12, 1-3 ASUN): Assuming the Dolphins can get healthy after their game at UNF was postponed on Saturday, they face their two opponents this week with a combined 3-1 record against them. The Dolphins beat EKU in their only prior meeting, 77-60 in 2022 and are 2-1 against Bellarmine, splitting in 2021 and winning the last meeting 64-46 in 2022.
Noting Edward Waters (4-13, 2-8 SIAC): The Tigers have lost eight games in a row and have yet to win in 2024 after dropping three games last week. The toughest loss was 65-62 at Fort Valley (Ga.) State EWC scored only three points in the last 3:14. The Tigers averaged 22 turnovers and shot 34.2 percent in the three losses.
Noting Trinity Baptist (6-9, 1-4 NCCAA South Region II): The Eagles held Johnson (Fla.) to 25.8 percent shooting (16 of 62) in their 75-47 victory in Kissimmee. Junior guard Emma Parrish had 20 points, 10 assists and six steals off the bench, Touze had 17 points and 13 rebounds and Ranajala Brown had seven assists, eight rebounds and four steals.
Noting Flagler (7-9, 2-4 Peach Belt): The Saints beat Clayton State at home on Saturday 74-62 as McCormack had 21 points, five rebounds and two steals. Junior guard Destiny McClendon added 16 points.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: North Florida Ospreys take a four-game winning streak on the ASUN road
