CHARLESTON, S.C. (December 13, 2023) – For the first time since the end of November, senior guard
KJ Johnson saw action for the University of North Alabama and was one of four Lions in double figure scoring in a 76-64 win at Charleston Southern on Wednesday.
UNA secured its first road victory of the season and improves to 6-5 on the campaign, while Charleston Southern drops to 3-6.
Johnson — UNA's leading scorer who exited early against Tennessee Tech back on Nov. 30 — checked into the game tonight early in the first half. He finished with 14 points to tie running mate
Jacari Lane for the team lead. Lane scored all of his points in the second half.
For the second time this season, senior forward
Damian Forrest recorded a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Junior guard
Josiah Fulcher was not far behind with 12 points and eight rebounds — his new season-high. Graduate forward
Tim Smith Jr. added eight points for UNA.
Charleston Southern was led by RJ Johnson with a game-high 27 points.
UNA did not have as much production behind the arc, but outscored the Bucs 46-18 in the paint to turn an early eight-point deficit into a double-digit road victory.
Tonight marked another pair of returns — of sorts — as UNA Associate Head Coach
Ahmad Smith returned to the Buc Dome after spending seven successful seasons coaching at Charleston Southern prior to joining the UNA staff five years ago. UNA Director of Player Development Eric Wagenlander was also at CSU for a season alongside Smith in 2017-18.
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Half: The Bucs — who was playing for the first time in over a week — caught fire early with a pair of three-point baskets to start on a 6-0 run in the first minute.
KJ Johnson then subbed in for UNA at the 15:56 mark. CSU would go on to lead 16-8 with 13:37 remaining, but UNA erased this with a go-ahead three pointer by Fulcher to make it 21-19. The Lions then pulled out to a 28-22 lead with 5:28 to go in the half and never trailed again, doubling that lead to 40-29 with 17 seconds left in the frame.
Second Half: UNA set the tone for the second half with a 7-0 run to lead 47-31 for a tremendous lead, then later led 57-40. From there, CSU steadily made it a game again with 16-7 run over seven minutes to cut it back to 63-56 with under five minutes to go. RJ Johnson, who had 27 points on the night, had the three-pointer to cut it back to seven. This proved to be as close as the Bucs would get, as UNA iced over the Buc Dome with 13 points combined from
KJ Johnson, Lane and Fulcher.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
- UNA outshot CSU by 19 percent in both halves, finishing 30-58 for 51.7 percent while limiting the Bucs to just 20-62 for 32.3 percent.
- Tonight marks the third time UNA has shot over 50 percent from the field, joining wins over Rust College (60.6) and Tennessee Tech (52.6).
- Tonight also marks the second-lowest shooting percentage by a UNA opponent at 32.3 percent, just slightly ahead of Blue Mountain Christian (31.7) in the season opener.
- The Bucs out-shot the Lions behind the arc, going 9-29 while UNA went just 3-10.
- UNA more than made up for the 18 extra points Charleston Southern scored behind the arc, owning the paint with a 46-18 scoring advantage.
- Nine different Lions scored on Wednesday, including four in double digit totals.
- The Lions also had 33 points from its bench, while CSU had just six.
- Will Soucie completed a three-point play in the second half, converting his only free throw of the game. He is 13-13 from the line this season and is just 12 makes shy to qualify for the NCAA statistical minimum of 2.5 makes per game. Only one NCAA player is above the minimum and still at 100 percent from the line — Reese Waters from San Diego State at 40-40.
- UNA had a 41-36 edge on the boards, including a 23-16 advantage in the first half.
- UNA led for nearly 28 minutes of the game, including the entirety of the second half.
- The Lions had a 17-point lead in the second half, marking the largest road lead this season.
- Tonigh's win snapped a five-game skid in true road games that dated back to last season. UNA's last road win before tonight was a 98-93 overtime victory at EKU.
COMING UP NEXT
On Saturday, UNA will head to Tennessee Tech for a return trip. Tipoff is set for 3 p.m. in Cookeville. The Lions won the first battle this season by an 86-71 final in Florence.
For more information on North Alabama Athletics, visit www.roarlions.com and follow UNA Athletics on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
