FLORENCE, Ala. (November 3, 2023) – November is officially here, and basketball season is not far behind.
 
The 2023-24 men's basketball season commences this coming Monday, Nov. 6 in the friendly confines of CB&S Bank Arena at Flowers Hall, as the University of North Alabama welcomes Blue Mountain Christian to Florence at 7:45 p.m.
 
This game will serve as the tail end of a doubleheader with UNA Women's Basketball, who plays UT Southern at 5:30 p.m.
 
Premium Seating at CB&S Bank Arena is sold out for the year, but general admission season tickets and single game tickets are still available. For ticket information, contact bbond@una.edu, call 256-765-5466 or visit online at this link.
 
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BUILDING ON SUCCESS: North Alabama finished with an 18-15 record last season, representing the most single-season wins since the Lions made the jump to NCAA Division I in 2018-19.
 
HUNTING ANOTHER POSTSEASON RUN: Last season, UNA played in the 2023 College Basketball Invitational (CBI) to mark the first postseason tournament in the program's NCAA Division I history. Prior to that, UNA's last postseason appearance was an NCAA Regional in 2013-14. UNA has participated in 14 NCAA Tournaments (all Division II), including five Final Four appearances and two National Championship wins.
 
THE ART OF BALANCE: The Lions have 16 players on the 2023-24 roster, including eight returning lettermen and eight newcomers. Of this group, there are three freshmen, three sophomores, six juniors, three seniors and one graduate student.
 
VETERAN LEADERSHIP: Experience is key for potential Atlantic Sun Conference contenders, and UNA brings that to the table this season with four returning starters. UNA returns 70 percent of its scoring to the starting lineup, not including reigning ASUN Freshman of the Year and ASUN Sixth Man of the Year Jacari Lane who was first off the bench last season and leads all returners in scoring with 12.7 PPG.
 
STAY IN YOUR LANE: Lane played in all 33 games with eight starts last season, averaging a team-leading 16.6 points per game in ASUN games last season. He ranked sixth in the nation among all NCAA freshmen in conference scoring. Lane was selected to the Preseason All-ASUN team last month at the ASUN Tipoff Event.
 
ROOKIES RISE AT UNA: In the last five seasons, UNA leads all ASUN schools in all-freshman team selections with six. This includes current players Lane and junior Detalian Brown. The Lions have three freshmen this season — Canin Jefferson, Drake James and Hugh Hargett.
 
IRON MEN: Last season, the duo of now-junior Will Soucie and now-senior Damian Forrest started all 33 games. The two averaged a combined 15.7 points per game from their respective guard and forward positions. Brown and Soucie have the most career games at UNA under their belt with Brown at 85 and Soucie at 84. Forrest, in his third season, was an academic All-ASUN selection in 2023.
 
DYNAMIC DUO AT GUARD: The UNA backcourt will be strong with the battery of Lane and rising senior KJ Johnson. The pair combined for 25 points per game last season at UNA and combined for 207 assists. Johnson had a pair of memorable back-to-back games last year, including the game-winning shot to defeat Ole Miss 66-65 last December, then scoring his 1,000th career point the next day at home against Williams Baptist. The Lipscomb transfer enters his senior season with 1,241 career points.
 
PUJOL CONTINUES PROGRAM GROWTH: UNA head coach Tony Pujol enters his sixth season at the helm, serving as the first and only coach of UNA's Division I era. Pujol enters with 63 wins over six seasons to his name and led UNA to an 18-15 overall record in its first season out of the four-year Division I transition period.
 
STRENGTH IN STAFF: The UNA men's basketball coaching staff experienced some restructuring this offseason, including the promotion of Ahmad Smith to Associate Head Coach and Sean Foley to Special Assistant to the Head Coach. Additions to the staff include Austin Burnette as an assistant coach, Landon Travis to handle basketball operations and Eric Wagenlander to direct efforts in player development. Assistant Coach Carter Heston and Director of Sport Performance Leo Stern also return from last year's staff.
 
PRESEASON POLLS: North Alabama was picked seventh of 12 teams in the preseason coaches and media poll for the ASUN. The Lions received one first place vote in the coaches poll. EKU was picked to win in both polls.
 
THE BANK IS OPEN: The Lions finished with a 9-4 record at CB&S Bank Arena last season, giving the Florence faithful much to celebrate. Additionally, the Lions have won each of the last 13 home openers dating back to 2010.
 
For more information on North Alabama Athletics, visit www.roarlions.com and follow UNA Athletics on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.