FLORENCE, Ala. (February 2, 2023) – For the second time this season, the University of North Alabama will break out its "Florence State" throwback jerseys for a men's basketball showdown, as the Lions welcome Florida Gulf Coast University on Saturday at 7:15 p.m. inside CB&S Bank Arena.
The Lions ride a three-game win streak into Saturday's matchup following wins over Kennesaw State, Queens and Stetson. The latter of those three wins came just last night, as UNA defeated Stetson by a 79-72 final behind a come-from-behind second half.
This year marks the 50th anniversary of UNA's name change from "Florence State University" to the "University of North Alabama" in 1974. The jerseys were debuted back in January against EKU and are white with purple text and gold accents. The words "Florence State" sandwich the numbers, and the old school "Lions" logo is situated on the right side of the shorts.
The game is also First Responder's Night, as UNA will honor various first responders throughout the night. A special first responders basketball game will take place at halftime of the men's game. For more info,
click here.
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 thais link.
Parking is available to the general public along the streets of Circular Road and Stewart Avenue, as well as the parking lot in front of Rice and Rivers Hall and the parking garage. Lots A, B and C at the Bill Jones Athletic Complex and below the arena are reserved parking spaces. There is also paid parking below the Science Building off Circular Road.
GAMEDAY INFORMATION
Game: North Alabama vs. FGCU
Date:Saturday, February 3
Time: 7:15 p.m.
Location: Florence, Alabama
Venue: CB&S Bank Arena
Capacity: 3,000
TV:
ESPN+ — Bryan Neece (PxP) and Matt Daniels (Analyst)
Radio:
WLX 98.3 / 103.5 FM — Kevin Johnson (PxP)
Live Stats:
StatBroadcast
Tickets:
Click here
Social Media:
@UNA_Basketball
Promotions:
First Responder's Night
NOTES
SCOUTING THE LIONS: UNA has a 10-12 overall record and an even 4-4 record in the Atlantic Sun Conference — tied with Central Arkansas, FGCU, Kennesaw State and Lipscomb. The Lions are averaging 77.7 PPG for the season and 86.3 PPG over the last three games. UNA ranks second in the ASUN with 15.2 free throws made per game and third with a 75.1 team percentage. The Lions are 8-3 at home this season.
SCOUTING THE EAGLES: FGCU enters similarly to North Alabama with a 10-13 overall record and a 4-4 mark in league play. The Eagles enter Saturday with momentum from their 82-59 win over Central Arkansas on Thursday in Conway, Ark. The Eagles also have wins over Austin Peay, Stetson and Jacksonville and ended non-conference play with an upset of then-No. 7 FAU. FGCU averages 70.5 PPG but rank third in scoring defense among ASUN teams with 72.3 PPG allowed. The nation's leader in field goal percentage belongs to FGCU in Keeshawn Kellman at a 70.1 percentage for 12.1 PPG.
SERIES HISTORY: The Lions have a 7-5 record against the Eagles all-time, dating back to 2005. UNA won back-to-back games against FGCU in 2005 and 2006 while at the Division II level, then won the first meeting at the Division I level in 2019. This will be just the fourth time UNA has hosted FGCU despite 12 meetings, as UNA is 3-0 against the Eagles when playing at home. UNA won last season's meeting in overtime, 87-85, behind 40 combined points from
Jacari Lane,
KJ Johnson and
Will Soucie.
CONNECT FOUR: The last time UNA had a win streak of at least four games started against FGCU on Feb. 4, 2023. An overtime win over the Eagles set up future wins over Austin Peay, Lipscomb, Bellarmine and an overtime stunner at EKU for five straight wins. This also marked the end of a 10-game stretch where UNA went 9-1 with additional wins over Central Arkansas, Jacksonville and North Florida.
TOO CLOSE FOR COMFORT: In each of the last two wins against Queens and Stetson, the lead has changed a combined 20 times, but the last lead in each game belonged to UNA.
NO NEED TO FRET: In five of UNA's 10 wins this season, the Lions were trailing at halftime but came from behind to win in the second half. This included last night's win over Stetson and last Wednesday's win over defending league champion Kennesaw State on the road.
DOUBLE-DOUBLE: For the third time this season, graduate forward
Tim Smith Jr. finished with a double-double after totaling 16 points and 10 rebounds against Stetson. Nearly joining him was senior forward
Damian Forrest with 19 points and eight rebounds.
HOWELL AT THE MOON: Junior forward
Dallas Howell has had the crowd in the palm of his hand the last two games, making the go-ahead basket in each of the last two wins. After scoring 11 points in a matter of minutes to flip the lead against Queens last Saturday, Howell made back-to-back-to-back three pointers to turn a 63-62 deficit into a 71-65 lead against Stetson.
STAY OUT OF HIS LANE: Sophomore guard
Jacari Lane averages a team-high 14.9 PPG to rank among the top 10 scorers in the ASUN. He is also the leading free throw maker in the league with 93 successful free throws, while ranking fourth with an 80.9 percentage on 115 attempts.
OH-KAY-JAY: Senior guard
KJ Johnson is the reigning ASUN Player of the Week after averaging 25.5 PPG in the two wins over Kennesaw State and Queens. He is the active career points leader for the ASUN with 1,504 points over three years at Lipscomb and two at North Alabama. He also ranks 45th in league history.
LIFE IN 4K: UNA has four players with over 1,000 career points on its roster, including Johnson, Smith Jr.,
Marco Foster and Forrest. The latter three each achieved the feat this season, with Forrest doing it the most recently against Morehead State. Stetson's Blackmon is only eight points shy of his 1000th point.
CAREER GUYS: Near the start of conference play, UNA had two fourth-year players compete in their 100th career game at UNA.
Will Soucie accomplished the feat against Bellarmine, while
Detalian Brown did it two days later against EKU. They are just the second and third players to play in 100 games for UNA in the Division I era (since 2018). They join Jamari Blackmon with 113 career games.
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 tomorrow's bout with 73 wins over six seasons and led UNA to an 18-15 overall record in its first season out of the four-year Division I transition period.
ON THE HORIZON: The Lions head to the Sunshine State next week for battles at North Florida and Jacksonville. Thursday's meeting with UNF is set for 6 p.m., while Saturday's meeting with the Dolphins is set for 2 p.m. Both times are listed as Central for fans in the Shoals.
For more information on North Alabama Athletics, visit www.roarlions.com and follow UNA Athletics on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
