FLORENCE, Ala. (November 26, 2024) – The North Alabama men's basketball team looks to feast a day early, as the Lions welcome NAIA opponent Dalton State College to CB&S Bank Arena in Florence on Wednesday at 1 p.m.
 
UNA will host a canned food drive in the lobby of the arena in honor of the Thanksgiving spirit. Fan are encouraged to bring and donate canned foods for those in need.
 
The Lions (4-3) have a 19-0 against non-Division I opponents since moving up to Division I in 2018, including a 94-58 win over Point University in this season's home opener. Dalton State (6-2) enters Wednesday as one of the hottest teams in NAIA with four straight wins.
 
The game will be streamed on ESPN+ with "Voice of the Lions" Benjamin Ray and Bryan Neece on the call, along with Chase Glover as the courtside reporter. The game will also air on WLX Radio with AJ Good of X Sports Network on the call. Fans can listen on 98.3 or 103.5 FM in the Shoals or worldwide on the website or app. The "Countdown to Tipoff" starts at 12:40 p.m.
 
GAMEDAY INFORMATION
Game: North Alabama vs. Dalton State
Date: Wednesday, November 27
Time: 1 p.m.
Location: Florence, Alabama
Venue: CB&S Bank Arena at Flowers Hall
Capacity: 3,000
Watch: ESPN+  ("Voice of the Lions" Benjamin Ray, Bryan Neece, Chase Glover)
Radio: WLX 98.3 / 103.5 FM (AJ Good)
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
Tickets: Click Here
Game Notes: Click Here
Social Media: @UNA_Basketball
 
NOTES

LAST TIME OUT: The Lions traveled to Louisiana for the City of Lights MTE this past weekend, hosted by Northwestern State. UNA defeated Louisiana-Monroe by a 74-62 final on Saturday, but lost to Northwestern State 71-58 less than 24 hours later. Senior Daniel Ortiz, playing near his hometown of Shreveport, led the Lions with 19 points in the first game.

SCOUTING THE LIONS: UNA has a 4-3 overall record, including wins over Air Force, Point, UT Martin and Louisiana-Monroe. The Lions are averaging 78.7 points per game with just 73.7 points allowed. UNA is one of the top teams in the turnover department this season with a plus-5.4 margin to rank 27th in the nation and first in the Atlantic Sun Conference.
 
SCOUTING THE ROADRUNNERS: Dalton State is one of the hottest teams in NAIA basketball with a 6-2 record. The Roadrunners are ranked 48th of 227 teams in the NAIA Massey Rankings. Dalton State, of Dalton, Ga., rides a four-game win streak, including a 92-69 win over nationally-ranked Life University. Senior Matt Compas leads the Roadrunners with 18.9 PPG and 4.8 RPG. This will be an exhibition for Dalton State.
 
SERIES HISTORY: This will be the first all-time meeting between the two teams. The Roadrunners are one of seven new opponents for UNA this season, joining Air Force, Point, ULM, Wofford, East Carolina and Loyola Marymount as first-ever matchups. UNA is 3-0 against new opponents so far with wins over Air Force, Point and ULM.
 
UNA AGAINST NON-DI TEAMS: Since making the move to Division I in 2018, UNA has a 19-0 record against non-DI teams. This includes wins over Blue Mountain, Martin Methodist, Montevallo, Huntingdon, Carver, Oakwood, Crowley's Ridge, Freed-Hardeman, Virgin Islands, Southeastern Baptist, Williams Baptist, Rust College and Point University.
 
CALL HIM MR. 1000: Junior Jacari Lane scored his 1,000th career point over the weekend against ULM. He is the 28th player to accomplish this feat in UNA's school history. Just over halfway into his career, Lane ranks 26th all-time in scoring at UNA with 1,021 career points and needs just 13 to tie Joe Edwards (1960-63) for the top 25.
 
COMING UP ON HISTORY: Ortiz, who spent two seasons at UNA before transferring out to UAB as a junior, is back at UNA for his senior season. He has 1,222 career points, but only 990 of those were scored at UNA. With 10 points on Wednesday, Ortiz will become the 29th player to score 1,000 points at UNA in school history.  
 
SENIOR SCORER: Fifth-year senior Will Soucie has played more Division I games than any other UNA player in school history with 123 career games. The New Jersey native is on his way to a career season with 11.0 PPG through seven starts. He has 837 career points and is also on 1,000 point watch this season.

LOCKDOWN DEFENSE: In the first two games, UNA held both Air Force and Point below 60 points. The Lions accomplished this just twice all of last season against Bellarmine (69-53) and Jacksonville State (61-59). UNA accomplished this four times in 2022-23.

ON DECK: Following Thanksgiving break, the Lions will trot over to Spartanburg, S.C. for a Sunday matchup at Wofford. Tipoff is set for 3 p.m. CT.
This is UNA's second game in the ASUN-SoCon Challenge, the first of which resulted in a 97-96 overtime loss to defending SoCon champion Samford.

For more information on North Alabama Athletics, visit www.roarlions.com and follow UNA Athletics on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.