Howell
Air Force Athletics
73
Winner North Ala. UNA 1-0,0-0 ASUN
57
Air Force USAFA 0-1,0-0 Mountain West
Winner
North Ala. UNA
1-0,0-0 ASUN
73
Final
57
Air Force USAFA
0-1,0-0 Mountain West
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
North Ala. UNA 43 30 73
Air Force USAFA 22 35 57

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

Men's hoops cruises past Air Force in season opener, 73-57

Jacari Lane drops 24 points to highlight shooting performance

USAFA, Colo. (November 4, 2024) – Starting with a statement.
 
The University of North Alabama men's basketball team has high expectations this season and took a massive step in the right direction with a dominant 73-57 road win over Air Force on Monday inside Clune Arena at USAFA near Colorado Springs.
 
UNA (1-0) dominated from wire-to-wire, shooting 15-29 behind the arc and hovering around 50 percent from the floor the entire way. The defense limited Air Force (0-1) to just 5-19 shooting in the first half, while protecting the ball with a 14-6 advantage in the turnover battle.
 
Fresh off his first team all-conference selection last season, junior guard Jacari Lane stole the show with a 24-point performance. He made each of his first five three-point attempts, finishing 9-15 from the floor and 5-6 from downtown. Lane also had a game-high six assists, three rebounds, one steal and just two turnovers.
 
Lane and the Lions started on an 8-0 run and never looked back, cruising to a 43-22 lead at halftime bookended by a triple from Dallas Howell. The fifth-year senior finished with 17 points on 6-9 shooting, including 5-8 behind the arc. Howell also led the team with five rebounds.
 
Wearing a North Alabama jersey for the first time in two seasons, senior guard Daniel Ortiz added 12 points in his second-stint debut. Redshirt sophomore transfer Corneilous Williams added eight points, while senior Will Soucie had six and junior transfer Donte Bacchus added five.
 
The Lions have won each of the last three season openers. However, this marks the first season opening win away from CB&S Bank Arena at Flowers Hall since 2014, when the Lions beat Tampa 88-87 in Huntsville during the final stretch at the Division II level.
 
Even more impressive, tonight marks the first true road win in a season opener since 1981. The Lions were led by UNA Hall of Fame Coach Bill Jones and defeated Tennessee Wesleyan 82-78. There have only been eight season openers on the road since that game, including tonight at Air Force.
 
Air Force was led by Ethan Taylor with 30 points, including 17 in the second half.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

First Half: UNA opened the 2024-25 season with an impressive 8-0 run, including back-to-back three-pointers by Lane in the first two minutes. Lane went on to hit all five of his three-point attempts in the half, as the Lions cruised to a 43-22 halftime lead. Two more back-to-back triples by Lane made it 31-14 at the final media timeout. Lane finished with 20 points at the break, while Howell added 11. Howell hit one from the left wing at the buzzer for the first half mic drop. UNA shot 16-31 at the break for 51.6 percent, while Air Force went just 5-19 for 26.3 percent.
 
Second Half: Including Howell's shot to end the first half, UNA rode a 10-0 run into the start of the second half and never looked back. UNA took its largest lead of the game with 4:38 remaining to go up 70-41. This was on pace to set a new record for largest win margin over a Division I opponent at 29 points. The Lions rested their starters after the final media timeout. Five different players scored at least four points in the second half, led by Williams with eight points on 3-3 shooting in the paint.
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
  • The 73-57 win was one of the largest over a Division I opponent all-time. The 16-point win matches last year's season-high set against both Alabama A&M (83-67) and Bellarmine (69-53). The record for largest win margin over a Division I opponent is 23 points, set against Mississippi Valley State in 2019 (73-50) and at Kennesaw State in 2021 (66-43).
  • UNA shot 51.6 percent in the first half, going 15-31 overall and 10-18 behind the arc.
  • Air Force shot just 5-16 in the first half and 3-11 behind the arc.
  • UNA had a jaw-dropping 10-1 advantage in turnovers in the first half and outscored Air Force 13-0 off turnovers.
  • UNA did not allow any fast break points. The Lions scored eight.
  • Air Force won the rebound battle 33-31, but were doomed by 14 turnovers.
  • UNA went just 4-9 from the free throw line, but made up for it by going 15-29 behind the arc.
  • The 15 three-pointers match last year's season-high of 15 set at UT Martin in an overtime game.
  • Howell was joined by defensive savants Taye Fields and Jamal Albritton with a block in the season opener. Fields and Ortiz also had two steals apiece. 
  • Twelve different players touched the floor for North Alabama. Lane was the most effective with a plus-26 rating over 32 minutes.
  • UNA had 60 possessions and scored on 29 of them (nearly 50 percent).
  • UNA led for 38:41 of game time and never trailed.
  
COMING UP NEXT

The Lions look to ride the momentum of Monday's win into a three-game home stand beginning Thursday, Nov. 7 against Point. Tipoff is set for 11 a.m. inside CB&S Bank Arena
 
For more information on North Alabama Athletics, visit www.roarlions.com and follow UNA Athletics on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. 
 
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