UNF Ospreys swoop again to upset Georgia Tech 105-93, scoring first win over an ACC foe

The Ospreys have struck again.

Freshman forward Josh Harris had 22 points and seven rebounds graduate senior forward Nate Lliteras had 18 points and sophomore guard Jasai Miles had 18 points and 11 rebounds to lead the University of North Florida to a 105-93 victory over Georgia Tech on Sunday at the McCamish Pavilion in Atlanta.

University of North Florida guard Jasai Miles (0) goes up for a basket against Georgia Tech’s Baye Ndongo during Sunday’s 105-93 victory for the Ospreys at McCamish Pavilion in Atlanta.

UNF (3-0) led by as many as 21 points and recorded its first-ever victory over an ACC team — six days after beating South Carolina 74-71, the Ospreys first victory over an SEC opponent.

It was the first meeting against Georgia Tech and the first time an opponent scored 100 points vs. the Yellow Jackets in a regulation game in Atlanta since Mercer won 102-85 on Jan. 28, 1974. Tech lost to Georgia State at home 123-120 in four overtimes in the opening game of the 2020-21 season.

Within six days, UNF matched the number of victories against teams from the “Power Four” conferences of the SEC, ACC, Big Ten and Big 12. The victory also came in the Ospreys’ 100th “money game,” under coach Matt Driscoll, referring to road games at schools from those conferences in which the Ospreys are paid appearance fees.

Beating Gamecocks gave Ospreys more confidence

Prior to this week, North Florida was 0-25 against the ACC and 0-32 against the SEC. The Ospreys have two victories in program history over teams from the power conferences, both against Big Ten foes, Purdue and Illinois.

Coach Matt Driscoll said in the post-game news conference that his team’s confidence was bolstered by the victory over South Carolina.

“For sure, once you do something like this,” Driscol said, when asked if there was a carryover. “At one point, Jaylen [Smith] told me, ‘I’m going to be calm because we’ve done this before.”

University of North Florida guard Jaylen Smith (4) goes to the basket against Georgia Tech’s…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/unf-ospreys-swoop-again-upset-203920921.html

Author : The Florida Times-Union

Publish date : 2024-11-10 20:39:00

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