COLUMBIA, S.C. — In an exciting season opener on Monday night, Jaylen Smith showcased his skills by scoring 14 of his total 16 points in the second half, helping North Florida secure a 74-71 victory over South Carolina.
The Ospreys faced a 36-31 deficit at halftime and found themselves down by five points at 64-59 with just over four minutes remaining, after Jacobi Wright of South Carolina made a layup. However, Smith stepped up, sinking two free throws to ignite a comeback. Then, Kamrin Oriol and Jasai Miles both drained 3-point shots, leading to a layup by Smith that capped an impressive 10-2 scoring run, putting North Florida ahead 69-66 with only 42 seconds left on the clock.
As the game neared its conclusion, Nate Lliteras calmly sank both shots from the line in a 1-and-1 situation, and with only 9 seconds left, Smith made a three-point play to secure the victory for North Florida.
Liam Murphy made a significant impact off the bench with four 3-pointers and a total of 14 points, along with six rebounds. Lliteras contributed with 13 points and five rebounds, while Miles added 11 points and nearly doubled his efforts with nine rebounds. Oriol chipped in nine points while showing accuracy with a 3-for-7 from 3-point range.
For the Gamecocks, preseason All-Southeastern Conference selection Collin Murray-Boyles led the team with 17 points and seven rebounds. Following closely behind were Zachary Davis, Jamarii Thomas, and Wright, who all scored 12 points each. Freshman Cam Scott, a highly regarded local talent and two-time Gatorade player of the year, made his debut with six points and four rebounds in 21 minutes.
This match marked the second time that North Florida opened its season against South Carolina; the previous encounter in 2014 resulted in an 81-56 loss for the Ospreys. Nonetheless, North Florida went on to win the Atlantic Sun Conference championship that year.
South Carolina’s head coach, Lamont Paris, who was named the SEC Coach of the Year, now holds a record of two wins and one loss in season openers.