North Florida stymies Queens late, claims road win behind Harris' career-high

 

North Florida freshman Josh Harris scored a career-high 31 in Thursday's road win at Queens (Photo:  North Florida Athletics)

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CHARLOTTE – Queens coach Grant Leonard sat at the media table, dissecting all the different details from his team’s Thursday night result against North Florida.

There was the late fade – in both halves. Queens surrendered a 17-2 run late in the first half, then fell victim to a 12-0 run to close the game. There was a shorter rotation – guard Kalib Mathews missed the game, while Bryce Cash left the game with an injury – with which to contend. Even still, there was the fact that the Royals forced just five turnovers.

Then, the real answer came after realizing that North Florida freshman Josh Harris had registered a career-high 31 points while taking 20 shots in 29 minutes of play. Leonard put a fine point on his response.

“That’s the tale of the game – letting a freshman score 31. He’s a good player, but – our interior players are all seniors. They should be able to hold the fort better than that.”

Harris led four Ospreys in double figures and contributed to North Florida’s 50 paint points, with North Florida using those two late runs to surge past Queens, 90-81, at Curry Arena.

Neither side created much separation early. Queens (12-8, 5-2 ASUN) scored the game’s first points on two Nas Mann free throws before the visitors equalized on the first two of six straight points from Harris. The teams could pull no further away than two possessions until the 6:03 mark of the period, when Queens freshman Yoav Berman canned a triple that put the Royals ahead by six and induced a 30-second stoppage from North Florida coach Matthew Driscoll.

Berman would again afford Queens a six-point advantage on a jumper a minute and a half later, but the Royals were largely neutralized for the rest of the half. North Florida (10-10, 3-4) embarked on a 17-2 run over the next 3:17, with Harris and forward Liam Murphy booking the first 10 points of the stretch. Jaxon Pollard scored the final four points of the half on a bucket and two free throws, but the six-point Queens advantage reversed to a nine-point North Florida halftime lead following the run.

Harris stuck a triple on the first Osprey possession of the second half, which gave the visitors their largest lead of the night at 10. The Royals chipped away from there, using a 12-5 run capped by a Malcolm Wilson dunk to snip the North Florida advantage to three with 16:29 remaining in the contest. Cash converted an and-one to finally put Queens back in front, 57-56, at the 13:54 mark.

The same back-and-forth from the first half again ensued for much of the second. Again, neither side could wrest larger than a two-possession lead. Queens worked a five-point lead on a Pollard jumper with 9:36 to play, then held or chased a tenuous lead for nearly the next seven minutes.

The near-replay of the first half then ensued. Whether due to the shorter rotation, unfamiliar combinations on the floor, fatigue, or whatever the cause, the three-point Royal lead that came on a Chris Ashby bucket with 2:49 to go would be the final time Queens would score.

Jasai Miles tallied back-to-back buckets. Harris hit a layup. Guard Nate Lliteras would seal the deal, scoring the Ospreys’ final six points on a basket and four free throws. Leonard left the floor in search of answers that would elude him until he could watch the game on film.

“That’s really the first game all year that we’ve been up late where we kind of kicked away a lead,” Leonard said. “Defensively, we definitely didn’t get the stops. I thought they got to the spots they wanted to and right to the rim. Offensively, 16 turnovers – and a couple late, even on an out of bounds play where that should never happen.”

“I thought the energy from our team was different today. It wasn’t as positive as it’s been. I thought it caused our guys to hesitate a little. Defensively, to win a game late, you’ve got to be able to get stops, and we did not get the stops late.”

“To our guys’ credit, what we did down the stretch – we got six consecutive stops,” Driscoll said. “We were able to flip the score. We made some really nice plays. We made some really nice baskets and we made our free throws down the stretch. Most importantly, we got those defensive stops, which we know separates you.”

Leonard allowed himself the concession that the injuries to his two main point guards may have been a factor. He would stop there.

“Our two point guards were injured. I think that probably had a lot to do with the 16 turnovers,” Leonard said. “There’s no excuses in basketball. Guys have got to make solid decisions with the ball. We don’t run a complicated offense. We get the ball moving. I thought we were a little stagnant, which caused some of our turnovers.”

“We’ve just got to play better,” Queens forward Leo Colimerio said. “We’ve got to finish games stronger, play as a team, and especially on the defensive end, we’ve just got to play better and harder.”

Harris’ 31 points for North Florida were a career-high, eclipsing his prior best of 26 against Warner early in the season. The freshman connected on 12-of-20 tries from the deck, adding 5-of-9 from the free throw line and finishing one board shy of a double-double. Miles snagged 13 caroms to record a double-double, as he and Murphy booked 17 apiece. The pair connected on a combined 14-of-26 field goal attempts. Jaylen Smith contributed 13 on a 4-for-9 effort. North Florida shot 47.9 percent (34-for-71) on the game despite hitting just 30.8 percent (8-for-26) from deep.

Berman logged his own career-high, scoring 22 on 9-of-12 from the floor (4-of-7 from three). He and Colimerio paced the Royals by tallying 22 each, with Colimerio hitting nine of his 13 tries. Pollard and Maban Jabriel combined for 16 points and 21 boards in reserve duty. Queens shot 46.3 percent (31-for-67) from the field but managed just 7-of-28 (25 percent) from the perimeter.

“I think I’m finding my role here,” Berman said. “I think I’m doing a better job over the last few games. I’m still trying to figure out how I can help the team win every game.”

“We’ve really been watching a lot of film with him and preaching to play through his jump shot, which I believe opened up some of his drives,” Leonard added. “I think that’s part of the learning process as a freshman. I’ve been really happy with his progress and his development. I think he’s got a really bright future. He’s just got to keep working.”

Queens will look to quickly rebound when returning to ASUN play Saturday afternoon and welcoming Jacksonville to Curry Arena. Game time is set for 1:00 (Eastern), with streaming available via ESPN+. North Florida remains on the road and heads to West Georgia for a 2:00 tip. ESPN+ will also provide streaming coverage for that contest.

NORTH FLORIDA 90, QUEENS 81

NORTH FLORIDA (10-10, 3-4 ASUN)

Harris 12-20 5-9 31, Miles 8-17 0-2 17, Lliteras 2-8 4-4 8, Smith 4-9 4-6 13, Berry 0-1 0-0 0, Murphy 6-9 1-2 17, Oliver 0-0 0-0 0, Oriol 0-3 0-0 0, Moss 2-4 0-0 4. Totals 34-71 14-23 90.

QUEENS (12-8, 5-2)

Mann 1-5 2-2 5, Colimerio 9-13 4-6 22, Wilson 3-6 0-0 6, Cash 1-3 1-1 3, Ashby 2-13 0-0 5, Pollard 3-5 3-4 9, Berman 9-12 0-0 22, Jabriel 2-5 2-4 7, Anderson 1-4 0-0 2. Totals 31-67 12-17 81.

Halftime:  North Florida 43-36. 3-Point goals:  North Florida 8-26 (Harris 2-3, Miles 1-5, Lliteras 0-5, Smith 1-3, Berry 0-1, Murphy 4-6, Oriol 0-2, Moss 0-1), Queens 7-28 (Mann 1-3, Colimerio 0-1, Cash 0-1, Ashby 1-11, Berman 4-7, Jabriel 1-4, Anderson 0-1). Fouled out:  NA.  Rebounds:  Queens 43 (Pollard 11), North Florida 32 (Miles 13). Total fouls:  Queens 18, North Florida 13. Technicals:  NA

Points off turnovers:  North Florida 20, Queens 5.  Points in the paint:  North Florida 50, Queens 46. Second-chance points:  Queens 17, North Florida 11.  Fast-break points:  North Florida 14, Queens 14.  Bench points:  Queens 40, North Florida 21.