CONWAY, Ark. (February 29, 2024) – With a number of Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament scenarios still in question, the University of North Alabama men's basketball team wraps up the regular season Friday at Central Arkansas.
 
Tipoff from the Farris Center in Conway, Ark. is set for 6:30 p.m.
 
Regardless of Friday's result, UNA has clinched a spot in the ASUN Championship Tournament, which begins Monday, March 4 and ends Sunday, March 10. However, the Lions can avoid a first round matchup and advance directly to the quarterfinal round with a win over UCA tomorrow. The stakes are higher for Central Arkansas, as the Bears must win to stay alive and need a loss from Jacksonville to clinch.
 
Currently, the Lions are tied for sixth place in the ASUN standings with a 7-8 record. UNA can finish as high as fifth with a win or as low as seventh with a loss. Scores of interest this Friday include North Florida vs. Stetson and FGCU at Jacksonville, as a win by both UNA and Stetson would give UNA the five seed. On the other hand, a win by Central Arkansas and FGCU would move UNA to the seventh seed. Any other result would lock UNA into the sixth seed.
 
Coverage of Friday's game is available on ESPN+ and WLX Radio, as "Voice of the Lions" Benjamin Ray will have the call on 98.3 and 103.5 FM in the Shoals and worldwide on the WLX website and WLX app. The "Countdown to Tipoff" begins at 6:10 p.m.
 
GAMEDAY INFORMATION
Game: North Alabama at Central Arkansas
Date: Friday, March 1
Time: 6:30 p.m.
Location: Conway, Ark.
Venue: Farris Center
Capacity: 5,500
Watch: ESPN+
Radio: WLX 98.3 / 103.5 FM
Live Stats: UCASports.com
Tickets: Click here
UNA Game Notes: Click here
Social Media: @UNA_Basketball
 
NOTES
 
LAST TIME OUT: Facing a team desperate to keep postseason hopes alive, North Alabama suffered an 82-70 loss last Saturday at Bellarmine. The Knights remain alive for an ASUN postseason berth with a win and losses by Jacksonville and Central Arkansas, while UNA clinched despite the loss thanks to a loss by Queens.
 
SCOUTING THE LIONS: UNA has a 13-16 overall record and a 7-8 record in ASUN play. The Lions rode a five-game win streak earlier this month but have since dropped four of the last five games. Backcourt duo Jacari Lane and KJ Johnson continue to lead the team in scoring with 15.1 and 14.3 points per game, respectively. Senior forward Damian Forrest remains one of the top rebounders in the ASUN, averaging 9.8 PPG and 8.1 rebounds per contest.
 
SCOUTING THE BEARS: Central Arkansas is 9-22 overall and 5-10 in the league, sitting tied for 10th in the league standings. With nine teams already locked for the ASUN Championship Tournament, one spot remains for three hopeful teams, including UCA, Jacksonville and Bellarmine. With a clear task at hand and senior day set for Friday, the Bears are led by freshman Tucker Anderson at 14.3 PPG. Anderson scored a game-high 24 points against UNA in the first meeting this season.
 
SERIES HISTORY VS. CENTRAL ARKANSAS: The Lions have an 8-4 record against Central Arkansas, including five meetings since Central Arkansas joined the ASUN in 2021. The Bears won the first meeting this season in Florence by an 84-81 final. Despite trailing by 23 points in the second half, UNA rallied and had a chance to tie at the buzzer. Meanwhile, UNA won last season's meeting on Pippen Court behind a late 10-0 run, downing the Bears 78-73 in Conway.
 
EVERY DAY OF THE WEEK: UNA's game against Central Arkansas will be the first Friday game of the season. The Lions opened the season with six games on six different days of the week — every day except Friday. The most successful day of the week has been Thursday, as UNA is 7-3 on that day.
 
HELPER, HELPER: Sophomore Jacari Lane enters this week with 112 assists on the season. He broke his own UNA Division I era single-season assist record two weeks ago, which he set as a freshman last season with 103 assists.
 
CAREER GUY: Junior Will Soucie has appeared in 113 games over four seasons at UNA, which ties Jamari Blackmon for the most Division I games in a Lion uniform. With an appearance against Central Arkansas, Soucie will break this record. Another fourth year player, Detalian Brown, is third all-time in Division I appearances at UNA with 110.
 
NO LEAD IS SAFE: Since starting conference play, UNA has experience 81 lead changes over 15 games to average over five lead changes per game. This includes 16 lead changes last Saturday at Bellarmine. This season, UNA has been involved in five ASUN games where a team led by nine points and lost.
 
STAY OUT OF HIS LANE: Sophomore Jacari Lane has been cruising this season with double digit scoring totals in 23 of 29 games this season. This includes six games where he scored over 20 points. In league play, Lane averages 16.5 PPG, which is right on average with last season's 16.6 PPG.
 
UNA AGAINST HIGHER NET TEAMS: The Lions have played 10 teams ranked within the top 200 schools in the NET rankings, including quality wins over Lipscomb, Jacksonville State and Stetson. The three-highest ranked teams UNA faced in non-conference play are Mississippi State (31), Texas Tech (43) and Kansas State (74).
 
FOUR OVER A THOUSAND: The Lions have four players on the active roster who have scored 1,000 career points — KJ Johnson, Tim Smith Jr., Damian Forrest and junior transfer Marco Foster. Johnson accomplished the feat last season, while Smith Jr. did so against Jacksonville State this season. Foster and Forrest hit the marks against Rust College and Morehead State, respectively.
 
ELITE COMPANY: UNA is one of nine known schools in Division I basketball with at least four 1,000 point scorers when factoring in players who scored some of their totals at the JUCO level. The list is led by St. John's (NY) with six, followed by TCU and Missouri with five. North Alabama is joined by Tennessee, Villanova, St. Bonaventure, Memphis and New Mexico with four.
 
ON THE HORIZON: The ASUN Championship Tournament begins Monday, March 4 and will run until Sunday, March 10. The official bracket will be announced after tomorrow's games.
 
For more information on North Alabama Athletics, visit www.roarlions.com and follow UNA Athletics on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.