FLORENCE, Ala. --  Seventh ranked North Alabama overcame four turnovers and dominated play in the second half as the Lions advanced to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Division II Playoffs with a 41-17 win over 12^th ranked North Carolina-Pembroke.
 
North Alabama, 9-1, will host North Greenville, a 45-26 winner over Tuskegee, next Saturday (Dec. 3) at Braly Stadium. Kickoff time has not been set. UNA defeated North Greenville 52-21 in Florence back on October 22.
 
UNA scored on its opening possession but fell behind 17-10 in the second quarter after back-to-back turnovers. The Lions scored two touchdowns in the last three and a half minutes of the half to take a 24-17 lead at intermission and UNA outscored the Braves 17-0 in the second half.
 
UNCP ends its season at 10-2 overall and lost to North Alabama for the fourth time in four all-time meetings.

"Very proud we were able to win the game ... actually, it was our worst game of the year," said UNA head coach Bobby Wallace.  "Every time that we had a chance to put some distance between us, we made it third-and-long and would get a 15-yard penalty or we're fixing to score to put it away and we fumble twice. We can't make those kind of mistakes. There's going to be some point in time where that's going to cost us the game."
 
UNA quarterback Jacob Tucker threw for 284 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 52 yards and two more scores to pace the UNA offense. Dre Hall caught nine passes for 136 yards and one score.
 
North Alabama finished with 420 total yards, rushing for 138 and passing for 282. UNCP had 372 total yards, rushing for 100 and passing for 272. UNA's defense picked off three passes.

"We want to celebrate tonight and be happy we won, be happy we're going to the finals of the South Regional," Wallace added. " It's a great accomplishment. We've had a great season and I'm very proud of them, but we want to move on. We've got to correct those mistakes."
 
UNA drove 80 yards in 10 plays on its opening drive with Damon Cox scoring on a two-yard run. Kevin Henke's PAT made it 7-0 at 11:10 of the first quarter.
 
The Braves scored their only offensive touchdown of the day with 3:20 left in the first quarter when Patrick O'Brien hit B.J. Bunn with a 44-yard scoring pass. Matt Davis added the PAT to tie the game at 7-7.
 
UNA answered quickly when Kevin Henke drilled a career-long 50-yard field goal with 1:38 left in the quarter.
 
Davis tied the game with a 24-yard field goal for UNCP with 8:29 left in the second quarter, making it 10-10.
 
The Braves recovered a mishandled UNA handoff in the end zone on the ensuing possession, with Christopher Ploch making the recovery for the touchdown. The PAT made it 17-10 with 8:16 left in the half.
 
North Alabama got a nine-yard TD run from Tucker with 3:23 left in the second quarter, then got a defensive stop and added a 43-yard TD strike from Tucker to Hall. The last score came with 1:24 left in the half to make it 24-17.
 
The second half was all UNA as Tucker scored on a six-yard run at 11:13 of the third quarter, Henke kicked a 44-yard field goal with 4:19 left in the third and Tucker passing 37 yards to Julius Jones with 8:35 left in the game to make it 41-17.
 
UNA fumbled away two other scoring opportunities deep in UNCP territory.
 
Notes:
Hall tied Michael Edwards UNA career mark of 151 catches and recorded his 10^th career 100-yard receiving game.
 
UNA is now 33-17 all-time in the Division II Playoffs, including a 25-8 record at Braly Stadium. The Lions will be making their 15^th all-time appearance in the quarterfinals.


Jacob Tucker


Ja'Mal Jackson


Damon Cox


Sheldon Lewis


Eddrick Harris


Dorsey Norris


Tyler Smith and Frank Williams


Dre Hall


Julius Jones