Floyd
Drew Barton
Sophomore guard Blake Floyd celebrates a three-pointer with the UNA crowd after eclipsing the 100 mark in scoring against Rust College on Thursday.
65
Rust Rust 0-1
109
Winner North Ala. UNA 5-4,0-0 ASUN
Rust Rust
0-1
65
Final
109
North Ala. UNA
5-4,0-0 ASUN
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Rust Rust 26 39 65
North Ala. UNA 57 52 109

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

Lions cruise past Bearcats on Elementary Day, 109-65

UNA sets new single-game scoring record for Division I era

FLORENCE, Ala. (December 7, 2023) – The energy and scoring were both at extreme highs on Thursday morning inside CB&S Bank Arena, as the University of North Alabama shook off Rust College by a 109-65 final in Florence.
 
Thursday's game was Elementary Day, as nearly 1,800 elementary students and a host of Lion fans filled the arena. In fact, UNA pulled out its extra set of bleachers behind the east side goal to extend past its usual capacity and accommodate more fans.
 
The young fans cheered for every UNA basket — and had many of them to cheer about — as the Lions posted a new single-game high in scoring with 109 points. This marked the most points scored by UNA in the Division I era (since 2018) and the ninth time UNA has scored at least 100 points in that span.
 
Junior guard Will Soucie started the scoring with an early layup just 20 seconds into the game. The Lions led the entire way after that, scoring 52 points in the first half and 57 in the second half.
 
All 13 Lions who appeared in today's game scored at least once.
 
Four players finished in double figure scoring for North Alabama, including Soucie with 15 points. Leading the Lions was junior transfer Marco Foster with 19 points, shooting 6-7 from the floor and 5-6 behind the arc. Another veteran guard, Detalian Brown, had his third straight double-digit scoring game with 13 points after scoring 19 the last two outings.
 
Freshman guard Canin Jefferson also shined for UNA, leading the team in minutes with 24 and putting up a career-high 11 points for his first double-digit scoring game. He also had six assists — second on the team behind Jacari Lane with nine. Tim Smith Jr. led with nine rebounds.
 
Jefferson was not the only player to set a new career-high, as junior center Jamal Albritton, sophomore guard Blake Floyd and true freshman Drake James each set new scoring marks with career minutes. Albritton had four points, four rebounds and a block over his 18 minutes, while Floyd and James saw over seven minutes of action and had eight points apiece. Fellow freshman Hugh Hargett, who entered with two three-pointers earlier this season, had a pair of assists in the same time span.
 
The Lions improved to 5-4 overall and a perfect 5-0 record inside CB&S Bank Arena. UNA is also 26-2 in non-conference home games under Coach Tony Pujol. Rust College falls to 3-4 on the year.
HOW IT HAPPENED

First Half: The only moment of the game where the score was tied came at the 19:24 mark when Rust's Christopher Hood tied the game at 2-2. After that, UNA went on a 9-0 run to make it 11-2 with 17:36 to go — and never looked back. The largest run of the half was a 14-0 run midway through the half to extend the lead to 29-7 with 11:05 to go. UNA shot 52.8 percent from the floor in the first frame (19-36) and 35 percent behind the arc (7-20). Foster had all 19 of his points in the first half, going on a personal 9-0 run with three consecutive triples. Soucie added 11 in the half.
Second Half: With a 57-26 lead at the break, the Lions continued the fun in the second half and were able to rotate a number of fresh players for valuable experience. The production did not slow down, as UNA shot a whopping 70 percent in the second half (21-30) and made nearly half of its triples to go 7-15 from downtown. A big moment in the game came with the score 97-54, as Floyd sank a triple for triple digits on the scoreboard — meaning free queso from Rosie's Cantina. At the other end, Floyd took a charge and sent the team and crowd into a frenzy at the final media timeout. The largest lead of the game came with 2:46 remaining as James hit a two-point jumper to make it 107-54. James, Floyd and Brown led UNA with eight points in the second half, while Jefferson scored seven and Dallas Howell added six on two triples.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
  • UNA shot 60.6 percent from the floor for the game, going 40-66. The all-time school record is not far off this total, as UNA shot 47-66 for 71.2 percent against Shorter in 1978.
  • The Lions set new season-highs in points (109), field goals made (40), assists (25) and steals (10). The 25 assists are the most by UNA since recording 27 against Virgin Islands back on Nov. 13, 2021.
  • The 109 points are the most scored in regulation by a UNA team since the Lions defeated traditional rival UAH by a 119-103 final at home in 2016 
  • Nine players tallied at least one assist on Thursday, led by Lane with nine, Jefferson with six and Foster, Hargett and Josiah Fulcher with two apiece. Fulcher also had eight points.
  • UNA had a 41-28 advantage on the boards with 10 players grabbing at least one board. Smith Jr. had nine, Howell had seven and Damian Forrest added five to go with his eight points.
  • Speaking of Forrest, the senior forward is now five points shy of 1,000 for his career. He has 489 points as a member of the Lions and over 500 points from two seasons at the JUCO level.
  • UNA had six blocks today and has had 14 blocks in the last two home games. Howell had three of UNA's blocks today, while Forrest, Fulcher and Albritton added one each.
  • UNA had a 26-15 advantage in points off turnovers, though Rust was very competitive in the turnover battle with nine steals to UNA's 10.
  • The Lions had a 50-26 advantage in the paint.
  • Sixty-five points came from UNA's bench today, making up over half the scoring.
  • 100 – With 100 points today, UNA fans are encouraged to head to Rosie's Cantina to retrieve a free cup of queso within 24 hours of the final buzzer. Fans can retrieve this by showing the free queso graphic on social media or a photo from the game to their server.
  • Six — 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.
 
COMING UP NEXT
 
The Lions look to extend the home winning streak this Sunday, Dec. 10 with an afternoon battle against Morehead State. Tipoff is set for 2 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. 
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