HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (December 14, 2025) – Despite not playing in nearly two weeks, the University of North Alabama men's basketball team carries a heap of momentum into a Monday road matchup against classic in-state rival Alabama A&M on Monday at 7 p.m. in Huntsville.
The momentum comes from a three-game win streak that dates back to a pre-Thanksgiving win over UT Southern. The next two wins were perhaps the best two of the season — road wins at Jacksonville State and San Francisco. Both wins came against teams included in that week's College Insider Mid-Major Top 25 with Jax State receiving votes and San Francisco ranked No. 20.
Monday's game will be played inside the recently opened AAMU Event Center, which can hold up to 6,000 people. The game will be streamed on SWACTV. Fans can listen to the hometown broadcast on Roar Lions Productions with "Voice of the Lions" Benjamin Ray on the call. The pre-game show begins at 6:40 p.m.
Tickets are available here or by calling (256) 372-7173.
GAME INFORMATION
Game: North Alabama vs. Alabama A&M
Date: Monday, December 15
Time: 7:00 p.m. CT
Location: Huntsville, Ala.
Venue: AAMU Event Center
Capacity: 6,000
Watch: SWACTV
Listen: Roar Lions Productions
Live Stats: SIDEARM
Tickets: Click Here
Social Media: @UNA_Basketball
NOTES
LAST TIME OUT: North Alabama picked up one of the most prominent wins of the Division I era (since 2018) on Dec. 3 with a 65-63 victory at San Francisco. The Dons were ranked No. 20 in the College Insider Mid-Major Top 25 and had a 16-game regular season home winning streak up until the loss to UNA. UNA trailed 24-6 at one point in the first half, but surged back to cut the lead to two at halftime and took the lead early in the second half. Junior Canin Jefferson was the hero with a go-ahead layup with 18 seconds to go, then Mookie Cook missed three-pointer at the buzzer for USF.
CONFERENCE AND NATIONAL AWARDS: Senior Donte Bacchus was instrumental in both wins over Jax State and San Francisco — so much so, he earned multiple accolades. He was voted the Atlantic Sun Conference Player of the Week and the Mid-Major Madness National Player of the Week. Bacchus shot 8-14 in both games (57.1 percent) and averaged 19.5 points and 7.0 rebounds per game.
SCOUTING THE LIONS: UNA has a 5-4 record this season and rides a three-game win streak into Monday night. The Lions are allowing 74.7 PPG this season but only 63.0 PPG in the last three outings. UNA is averaging 73.4 PPG in scoring this season, led by Bacchus with 14. 1 PPG and redshirt junior Corneilous Williams with 13.6 PPG. Williams also leads the ASUN in rebounding by a wide margin with 10.4 RPG. UNA is also the second-best blocking team in the ASUN with 4.5 per game, led by Williams with 12 this season.
SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS: Alabama A&M has the same record as UNA with a 5-4 record. All five wins have come at home, and all four losses have been on the road. Three of AAMU's wins have come against Division I opponents, including a 68-64 win over Charleston Southern, a 74-65 win over Lindenwood and a dominant 80-53 win over Tennessee State. AAMU is averaging 66.0 PPG with 72.2 PPG allowed — leading the SWAC in defense. Seniors Kintavious Dozier and Sami Pissis are averaging over 12.0 PPG to lead the squad.
SERIES HISTORY: UNA leads the all-time series with a 20-6 record. The first meeting went to the Lions by a 108-84 final in 1969. This series was played fairly often in the 1970s and 1980s and twice in the 1990s before going on pause until the Division I era. The Lions and Bulldogs have played four times since UNA's move to Division I in 2018 — UNA leading 3-1. The Lions have won three straight in this series, while AAMU seeks its first win over UNA since 2019.
NATIONAL RECOGNITION: Well-known college basketball analyst Rocco Miller recently published an article highlighting his five national teams of the week: Iowa State, Notre Dame, Richmond, Virginia and North Alabama. The Lions were labeled an ASUN contender by Miller, noting the ability to win back-to-back road games with little time to recover — much like a postseason tournament setting.
COMMON OPPONENTS: The Lions and Bulldogs have one common opponent so far — Clemson. The Lions fell 81-61 despite a competitive second half, while the Bulldogs lost 92-56. AAMU also traveled to Lipscomb — a conference foe for UNA — and lost 92-58. Chattanooga remains on AAMU's schedule, a team UNA fell to on the road last month.
THE GOLDEN CORRAL: The Lions corralled a lot of rebounds in the Golden State against San Francisco with a 46-31 advantage. This led to 20 second chance points on 19 offensive boards and 30 points in the paint. The 15-board differential is the widest advantage for UNA this season. The previous was a 12-rebound difference against Lane College in the home opener last month.
FREEBIES: The Lions shot 14-17 from the free throw line against San Francisco for a season-best 82 percent at the line. Bacchus, Williams and sixth-year senior Dallas Howell were perfect at the line in that game.
DECEMBER TO REMEMBER: UNA will play four road games in the month of December with no home games until conference play begins on New Year's Day. The Lions are 2-0 in the first half of the December slate with games at AAMU and Loyola Marymount (CA) remaining.
WILLIAMS ON A ROLL: Corneilous Williams, who was recently featured by WAAY 31, is one of the top rebounders and field goal shooters in college basketball. He is currently ranked 15th in the country with 10.4 RPG and 22nd in total rebounds with 94. He has a 62.9 shooting percentage with 44 makes, which ranks among the top 30 most efficient scorers in the nation.
JUST WIN THE PAINT: This season, UNA has a 5-0 record when outscoring its opponent in the paint. The Lions are 0-4 when the opponent wins the paint. The last time UNA lost a game where it score more points in the paint was the ASUN Championship last season at Lipscomb. The last time UNA won the game and lost the paint was an 88-84 overtime win over Austin Peay in January of last season.
DOUBLE VISION: When Williams has a double-double this season, the Lions are 4-0. When he doesn't, the Lions are 1-4. The only win without a double-double was at San Francisco where he scored 12 points and had eight rebounds.
DOUBLE FIGURE PLAYER: Sophomore Kevin de Kovachich has been a sparkplug for the Lions this season, scoring double figures in eight of his nine games. Since scoring 14 in the season opener at Mississippi State, de Kovachich has maintained a double figure scoring average. He went from averaging 7.1 minutes per game as a true freshman to now 32.5 minutes per game as a sophomore starter.
ON DECK: The Lions will close the non-conference slate on Friday, Dec. 19 at LMU. Tipoff is set for 9 p.m. CT in Los Angeles, Calif. ASUN play begins on New Year's Day at home against Stetson. Tipoff from CB&S Bank Arena is set for 2 p.m.
For more information on North Alabama Athletics, visit www.roarlions.com and follow UNA Athletics on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
