FLORENCE, Ala. (January 27, 2024) – Two games. Two wins. Same score.
A few days removed from a signature 90-84 road win over Kennesaw State, the University of North Alabama men's basketball team provided an encore for its hometown fans with a matching 90-84 win over Queens on Saturday inside CB&S Bank Arena in Florence.
In a battle of two teams tied in the Atlantic Sun Conference standings, UNA went on a 13-2 run late in the fourth quarter to overcome a four-point deficit. The game came down to the final minute, as Queens hit a layup with 51 seconds remaining to pull within two at 84-82. Sophomore
Jacari Lane sealed it from there, shifting past a defender for a lead-extending layup. He and graduate
Tim Smith Jr. iced the game after that with free throws.
The Lions are now 3-4 in the ASUN with two straight wins, currently tied with Austin Peay and FGCU with nine games remaining. Queens falls to 10th with a 2-5 record ahead of Bellarmine and Jacksonville at 1-6.
The lead changed 11 times on Saturday with 10 ties. Neither team possessed a double-digit lead nor went on a scoring run beyond 8-0. Thought tight, UNA led for nearly 28 minutes of game time. Both halves ended in three-point advantages for UNA.
Speaking of three-points, UNA made a lot of them. The Lions went 13-19 from behind the arc for a season-best 68.4 percentage. This percentage fell just shy of UNA's Division I era record of 70 percent set last season against North Florida, where UNA went 14-20. Tonight's performances ranks second in the D1 era — since 2018.
Lane and his roommate, senior guard
KJ Johnson, had another strong performance with 51 combined points. Lane finished with 27 points on 10-16 shooting, while Johnson followed up his big night at Kennesaw State with 24 points against Queens. The pair combined for eight assists, eight rebounds, four steals and just four turnovers.
Lane and Johnson were also key in the success from downtown, as Lane went 3-3 and Johnson went 2-2 for a perfect night. But perhaps the biggest impact late in the game came from junior forward
Dallas Howell. The sharpshooter went 4-6 from three-point land and finished with 14 points. Eleven of those 14 came at a great time, as he single-handedly flipped a 71-67 deficit into a 78-72 lead.
While Howell did the clutch job in the second half, graduate forward
Tim Smith Jr. paved the way with 13 points on 3-4 shooting behind the arc. Smith, who did most of his damage in the first half, also added seven rebounds. The trio of UNA veterans
Will Soucie,
Detalian Brown and
Damian Forrest combined for 12 more points. Forrest also led with 11 rebounds.
Deyton Albury led Queens with 29 points and tied Forrest and teammates BJ McLaurin and Jacobi Sebock for a game-high 11 rebounds.
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Half: The first minute of the game was perhaps a sign of things to come, as things started with a turnover by Lane on the first possession, but a redemptive block at the other end. This block led to a three-pointer by Smith Jr. on an assist from Soucie. In a see-saw battle, neither team led by more than five in the first half. In fact, UNA controlled the lead most of the half and never trailed by more than two points. The Lions led 35-32 on a combined 31 points from Lane, Johnson and Smith Jr.
Second Half: The sparks began to fly in the second half with both teams shooting at a high rate, including 53.3 percent from Queens and 48.6 from North Alabama. Both teams also made 15 free throws in the second half, meaning the difference came from three. UNA went 6-9 while the Royals went 5-14. UNA led up until the 11:51 mark, as the Royals went ahead 53-51 on a layup from Sebock. The lead changed hands a few times from there but got testy for UNA at the 7:00 mark when Queens took a two-possession lead. Enter Howell, who went on a personal 11-0 run with three triples while the UNA defense shut down Queens from the floor. The Royals pulled back within one after a few stops, but Soucie, who has been efficient from the line all year, sank two clutch free throws and was followed by a Johnson layup to pull back ahead by five. With Queens down two and desperate for a stop, Lane had the final field goal of the night, making it 86-82 with under 30 seconds to go. An empty possession for Queens after that sealed its fate. UNA outscored Queens 55-52 in the second half to win 90-84.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
- Tonight marks the 49th time that UNA has made 10 or more three-point shots in six seasons under Coach Tony Pujol. This includes seven times this season and each of the last two games. For the week, UNA shot 25-47 from downtown for roughly 53 percent.
- For the second straight game, UNA had a 27 point scorer. Johnson did it at Kennesaw State, while Lane did it tonight. This is the second-highest individual point total by a Lion this season. Lane has the highest point total with 28 against Morehead State.
- UNA went 17-22 at the free throw line, including Lane and Johnson combining to go 12-14.
- Both teams were efficient, as UNA went 30-64 for 46.9 percent and Queens went 29-65 for 44.6 percent. Queens went just 7-24 behind the arc for a pedestrian 29.2 percent.
- Queens had a slight 40-39 advantage in rebounding, but it was completely different routes for the Royals and the Lions to that number. Queens had three players with 11 rebounds and nobody else with more than two. Meanwhile, UNA had one 11 rebound-getter (Forrest) and had five players with at least three rebounds.
- UNA had five blocks, including two from Howell and one each from Lane, Forrest and Smith Jr.
- Lane led all players with a +12 plus-minus for tonight. Soucie was next among all players with a +9.
-
6 – This is the number of free boneless wings that fans can retrieve at the Buffalo Wild Wings location in Florence after every UNA win with the purchase of six wings. Fans are encouraged to show their ticket or the social media graphic to retrieve the offer.
-
90 – When UNA scores 90 or more points at home this season, fans can take their ticket to Rosie's Cantina in downtown Florence to retrieve a cup of free queso. This offer is valid this coming Tuesday only to fans with proof of attendance at tonight's game.
COMING UP NEXT
UNA continues its home stretch next week against Stetson and FGCU. This run starts with the Hatters on Thursday, Feb. 1 at 7:45 p.m. inside CB&S Bank Arena.
For more information on North Alabama Athletics, visit www.roarlions.com and follow UNA Athletics on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
