Lane Ortiz
Drew Barton
66
Bellarmine BU 3-11,0-1 ASUN
82
Winner North Ala. UNA 9-5,1-0 ASUN
Bellarmine BU
3-11,0-1 ASUN
66
Final
82
North Ala. UNA
9-5,1-0 ASUN
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Bellarmine BU 29 37 66
North Ala. UNA 38 44 82

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

Men’s basketball routs Bellarmine in ASUN opener, 82-66

Ortiz makes eight triples, Lane records double-double

FLORENCE, Ala. (January 2, 2024) – North Alabama opened Atlantic Sun Conference play with a complete team effort, leading wire-to-wire in an 82-66 win over the Bellarmine Knights on Thursday night inside CB&S Bank Arena.
 
North Alabama (9-5, 1-0 ASUN) started the game on a 9-0 run and chucked the rearview mirror, keeping the nine-point lead at halftime and extending it to double digits by the end.
 
Senior Daniel Ortiz was a big reason for this success, scoring a game-high and season-high 26 points on 9-18 shooting from the floor and 8-17 shooting from downtown. This marked the first 20-point game for Ortiz since last season and the most points since dropping 22 against EKU in 2023.
 
While Ortiz did the bulk of the scoring, junior guard Jacari Lane did most of the helping. Lane finished with 13 points and a season-high 10 assists for his first double-double of the season and the second of his career. The other came at Kansas State last season with 19 points and 11 assists.
 
Senior Taye Fields and redshirt sophomore Corneilous Williams were also on double-double watch tonight. Fields had 20 points and eight rebounds, going 9-13 from the floor. Williams dominated the post with a game-high 15 rebounds, one shy of his career high, while adding eight points.
 
Bellarmine (3-11, 0-1 ASUN) was led by Billy Smith with 16 points.
 
The Lions, who pride themselves on ball security as one of the nation's leaders in turnover margin, impressed once again with just six turnovers. Bellarmine had eight, which is the lowest by a UNA opponent this season. UNA also won the boards, 40-29.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
 
First Half: The Lions started on a 9-0 run, holding Bellarmine off the board for nearly four minutes to open the game. Fields and Lane opened the scoring with three lay-ups and a deep triple from Lane. Later, Ortiz and senior Will Soucie joined the fun and made it 15-2 at the 14:06 mark. The lead continued into the break, as Ortiz and Lane caught fire and combined for 23 points on five triples. Both teams had four turnovers in the first half, but UNA had a 9-2 advantage in points off turnovers.
 
Second Half: The offensive pace picked up a bit in the second half, but the Lions were too much to overcome. UNA's largest lead came with 11:46 to go at 56-33 — a 23 point margin. UNA had another half with 16 field goals, including six behind the arc. Ortiz was the x-factor, going 5-10 behind the arc to seal the win. Fields added 11 more points before fouling out late in the game. Defensively, Soucie had the impact play with a three-point swat.
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
  • The Lions went 11-32 from downtown, attempting a new season-high for three-point shots. Ortiz made eight of those, while Lane had two and Soucie added one. 
  • The 17 attempts are the most by a UNA individual in the Division I era. The eight makes were the most by a Lion since Ortiz went 10-14 against North Florida in 2023. The 14 shots were the most in a single game moving to Division I, until tonight.
  • UNA won the turnover battle once again, 8-6. The Lions turned that into a 14-2 advantage in points off turnovers.
  • Before tonight, every UNA opponent had finished with at least nine turnovers, including 11 of 13 opponents with 11 turnovers or more.
  • UNA won the rebound battle 40-29 and outscored Bellarmine 40-32 in the paint.
  • UNA is now 3-0 in games on a Thursday this season, joining wins over Point (94-58) and Charleston Southern (86-69).
  • The Lions are now 9-1 when scoring at least 70 points and 9-0 when allowing under 70 points.
  • Taye Fields is just the third Lion to foul out in a game this season. The others were Canin Jefferson against Samford and Israel Jenrette against Air Force.
  • UNA is now 6-1 at home this season and 56-27 in home games under Tony Pujol since taking over the program in 2018. 
  • 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. 
  • 60 - When the Lions score at least 60 points, fans can head to Culver's the next day and earn a free single scoop dish of the "flavor of the day" custard when making an online purchase with the code CUSTARD4LIONS. Only retrievable at the Cloverdale Road location in Florence. 
  • 80 - Anytime the Lions score 80 or more points, fans who attended the game can go to Rosie's Cantina in Downtown Florence to get a free cup of queso. Fans must show proof of attendance to retrieve.
 
COMING UP NEXT

UNA is back in CB&S Bank Arena on Saturday at 4:30 p.m. to host Eastern Kentucky.
 
For more information on North Alabama Athletics, visit www.roarlions.com and follow UNA Athletics on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. 
 
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