CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. (January 18, 2024) – The University of North Alabama men's basketball team led for nearly 35 minutes on Thursday at Austin Peay, but the Govs came back and forced overtime to escape with an 83-80 road win in Clarksville, Tenn.
UNA started the game on a 6-0 run and led all the way into the second half, but Austin Peay surged back from a nine-point second half deficit and took its first lead with 4:39 remaining. The Govs held this lead most of the late stages of the second half, but UNA senior
KJ Johnson forced overtime with a free throw with 0.4 remaining.
The Govs jumped to a 75-71 lead to start overtime, but could not extend the lead past four points. UNA kept pace and had a chance to tie at the buzzer, but a failed inbound with under a second to go ended UNA's Atlantic Sun Conference road opener in heartbreak.
Austin Peay moves ahead in the standings with an even 2-2 record, while UNA dips to a 1-3 start.
UNA had five players in foul trouble in the final five minutes, including
Damian Forrest,
Dallas Howell,
Josiah Fulcher,
Will Soucie, and
Tim Smith Jr. Things began to shift as Forrest fouled out with 1:59 to go and Howell fouled out with 20 seconds remaining after back-to-back buckets. Soucie fouled out in overtime. Despite this, the Lions battled to stay within two possessions the entire time they trailed.
A big driving force for UNA's success came from leading scorers
Jacari Lane and Johnson, as the former finished with 20 points and the latter with 18. Forrest added 11 points and tied a game high with eight rebounds.
Austin Peay had three players in double figures, including Isaac Haney with a game-high 24 points and reigning Southland Conference Player of the Year grad transfer Demarcus Sharp with 20.
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Half: The Lions opened things up with a 6-0 run and went on a 7-0 run after the first media timeout to take an early 15-7 lead. This lead lasted the entire half, securing UNA's first halftime advantage since conference play began. The Purple & Gold led by as many as 12 before Austin Peay cut it to three at the break. UNA got its scoring from seven players, led by Lane with eight points. The Lions also had a 23-16 advantage on the boards in the half.
Second Half: Both teams came out hot in the first four minutes of the half, but as the second half went on, points were at a premium. UNA did enough to retain the lead until the 4:39 mark, as Sharp had a go-ahead basket to make it 59-58 Austin Peay. The Lions never got the lead back in regulation, but stayed within two possessions and forced three ties after losing the lead. The final tie was the important one, as Johnson sank one of two free throws to keep UNA alive.
Overtime: Down two key contributors in Forrest and Howell due to foul-outs, the Lions opened play with
Eoin Nelson winning the tip. APSU got a pair of stops and turned those into points to take a 75-71 lead. From there, UNA had an answer each step of the way to keep the game tight, but could not get over the hump. Lane made a driving layup with 1:17 to go to make it 78-77, but Sharp extended the lead again in the final 30 seconds. Later down 81-78, the Lions missed the tying three-pointer but got a quick put-back from Nelson with under three seconds to go. A quick foul sent APSU's Dezi Jones to the line with 0.7 to go, who made both. With a chance to tie, UNA stepped over the inbound line while passing to half court, allowing Austin Peay to gain possession and inbound to run out the remaining clock.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
- For the first time in conference play, UNA was outscored in the second half, but outscored the opponent in the first half.
- The Lions went to overtime for the third time this season — all three resulting in road losses to UT Martin, Kansas State and Austin Peay. UNA won two overtime games on the road last season at FGCU and EKU.
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The last five overtime games for UNA came on the road. UNA's last home overtime game came over a year ago on Jan. 7, 2023 against Stetson.
- UNA is 5-7 in 12 overtime games since moving up to NCAA Division I in 2018.
- Soucie had two big free throws near the end of regulation, remaining perfect on the season at 17-17 from the line.
- The Lions shot over 50 percent most of the way, but finished 45.9 percent for the game on 28-61 shooting. The Govs had a slight advantage at the end, shooting 28-59 for 47.5 percent.
- Neither team did a lot of scoring behind the arc with seven combined three-point makes.
- Both teams did a lot of scoring in the paint, led by UNA with a 44-42 advantage.
- Both teams had many opportunities at the line with UNA going 21-31 and APSU going 23-39.
- It was a two-possession game for over 30 minutes, including the final 13:17 of regulation and five minutes of overtime. UNA led by more than seven the rest of that time.
- UNA had a 45-32 advantage on the boards. Seven UNA players had at least four rebounds, including six with five or more.
- Lane has scored over 20 points in both career meetings against Austin Peay, including a career-high 29 points in last season's win at CB&S Bank Arena.
COMING UP NEXT
The Lions will end the week in Nashville on Saturday at Lipscomb. Tipoff is set for 4 p.m.
For more information on North Alabama Athletics, visit www.roarlions.com and follow UNA Athletics on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
