JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - Fueled by three 20-point scorers and a late West Georgia push, UWG men's basketball stays perfect in conference play after holding on to win 85-73 over North Florida tonight on the road. 

With the Ospreys (2-14, 0-3 ASUN) quickly overcoming a 10-point deficit to open the second half, the Wolves' (9-6, 3-0 ASUN) defense showed great resilience by locking back in and forcing a late four-minute UNF scoring drought, which ultimately proved to be the difference in the Pack outlasting the hosts. 

The Pack was led by the National Player of the Week, Shelton Williams-Dryden, with 27 points and 10 rebounds, marking his third consecutive double-double. Josh Smith and Malcolm Noel followed it up with 22 points each, setting a new career-high for Noel. The Ospreys were led by Kamrin Oriol with 28 points.

"I thought it was a good team effort tonight. You know, North Florida, to their credit, they made us fight hard for it. They battled. They played well. They competed hard," said head coach Dave Moore following tonight's road win. "Our guys have worked really hard on their game to develop their skills. You know, and those three guys, Shelton, Malcolm, and Josh, those guys have worked -  nobody's worked harder than those three guys on their game on our team. And it wasn't just Malcolm's offense; it was his defense. We played him on Ken Jackson, one of the best three-point shooters in the league. He went 0-7 from threes, which was a huge piece of the puzzle and helped us win."

The first conference road game of the season kicked off with the Wolves jumping out to a 13-4 lead after the Pack opened the game hitting six consecutive field goals. 

Out of the first media timeout, the Ospreys strung together a 5-0 run fueled by second-chance points, dashing the West Georgia advantage to 13-9. 

With the Wolves holding a tight lead coming out of the 12-minute media break, Noel hit back-to-back-to-back three-pointers to extend the UWG advantage to 29-21. Remarkably, the senior guard opened the game draining a perfect four-for-four from deep, setting a new career-high on three-pointers made.

Hitting five of their opening 11 shots from beyond the arc (46 percent), the Ospreys slowly cut into the West Georgia advantage until they found themselves down just 32-31 before the clock reached the five-minute mark. 

Capped off with a three-pointer from Smith, UWG finished the half on a 14-4 run to enter the break holding a 46-36 lead. Noel and Smith both recorded a team-high 13 points in the opening period.

Hungry for their first ASUN win of the year, UNF opened the second half draining a three-pointer and a driving layup to cut the West Georgia lead down to 46-41.

With the Wolves shooting 1-for-5 (20 percent) and Ospreys shooting 5-for-7 (71 percent) to open the period, West Georgia's advantage was dashed to 49-47 by the first media timeout. 

Fueled by eight points courtesy of Williams-Dryden, the Pack pushed back out to a 59-52 lead before the 12-minute mark. 

Smith would round off the Wolves' 12-3 run with a dunk to put the Pack up 61-52 with the game heading into the 12-minute media timeout. 

With the Ospreys' cold spell pushing to over four minutes, UWG extended its advantage to 65-52 with under ten minutes remaining in the game. 

Finding success from midrange, UNF slowly clawed their way back into the game. With three minutes left, West Georgia held a 73-66 lead.

The Ospreys would hit another three to bring the game to 73-69, but Noel responded with his fifth made shot from deep to put UWG back up seven with under 90 seconds to play.

Finishing with a 12-4 run, West Georgia went on to win 85-73.

The Wolves take on Jacksonville this Saturday (Jan. 10) on the road. Tipoff is at 3 p.m., and the game is streaming on ESPN+.

"It'll be a completely different game," Moore described the upcoming matchup. "Jacksonville is a physical, long, defensive team. They'll make it hard on us. They'll press us. They'll trap us in the front court. They'll mix in their defenses. It'll be a physical game."

NOTABLE NUMBERS 
-Williams-Dryden's 27-point performance marks the fourth consecutive game with the forward dropping more than 20, bringing his season total to 11. Tonight's double-double marks his third straight, raising his season total to six.
-His effort led to the Wolves outrebounding UNF 33-32
-Smith's 22-point game is the fifth time this year he scored more than 20.
-As noted, Noel's career-high 22 points were fueled by a career-high five three-pointers. The guard has now scored double-digits in three of the last four games, bringing his season total to four.
-Tonight's victory marks the first road ASUN win of the season. 
-UWG now leads the all-time series vs UNF 2-0.
-UWG finished the night shooting 48 percent from the field, 38 percent from three and 85 percent from the line. UNF shot 44 percent from the field, 27 percent from three and 72 percent from the line.