JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (February 7, 2024) – The University of North Alabama men's basketball team is currently the hottest in the Atlantic Sun Conference and will put that to the test in sunny Jacksonville, Fla. on Thursday against North Florida.
 
The Lions and Ospreys will tip off at 7 p.m. Eastern Time and 6 p.m. Central for fans following along in the Shoals. The game will be streamed on ESPN+ and on WLX Radio 98.3 and 103.5 FM with "Voice of the Lions" Benjamin Ray on the call. Live stats are also available at RoarLions.com.
 
UNA is on a four-game win streak over the last two weeks, including wins over Kennesaw State, Queens, Stetson and FGCU. All four wins were by seven or less points, including a 70-69 win over FGCU at the buzzer last Saturday. No other ASUN team currently has more than a two-game win streak.
 
The Lions are currently 5-4 in league play, which is tied with Lipscomb for fourth in the standings. North Florida sits second in the league at 6-3, tied with Stetson.
 
GAMEDAY INFORMATION
Game: North Alabama at North Florida
Date: Thursday, February 8
Time: 6:00 p.m. CT
Location: Jacksonville, Florida
Venue: UNF Arena
Capacity: 6,300
Watch: ESPN+
Radio: WLX 98.3 / 103.5 FM — "Voice of the Lions" Benjamin Ray
Live Stats: SIDEARM Stats
Tickets: Click here
UNA Game Notes: Click here
Social Media: @UNA_Basketball
 
NOTES
 
LAST TIME OUT: North Alabama went wire-to-wire with FGCU on Saturday, as sophomore Jacari Lane made a go-ahead free throw with 1.6 seconds to go to make it 70-69. FGCU inbounded and drew a foul at the last second, but missed the front-end of the one-and-one and the ensuing tip-in to fall at the buzzer. Lane finished with 21 points, giving him 14 consecutive games with double digit scoring totals.
 
SCOUTING THE LIONS: UNA is now 11-12 overall and 5-4 in league play, looking to even up its overall record on Thursday. UNA is averaging 82.5 PPG over the last four wins while allowing 77.25 PPG. Four players are averaging double figures in conference play, led by Lane with 17.4 PPG and running mate KJ Johnson at 16.4 PPG. Forwards Damian Forrest and Tim Smith Jr. are both averaged just over 10.0 PPG.
 
SCOUTING THE OPPONENT: North Florida is 13-11 overall and 6-3 in league play, boasting a 10-2 record at home this season with seven straight home victories. The Ospreys are coming off a heartbreaking 95-91 double-overtime loss to Austin Peay last Saturday, but prior to that took down Lipscomb at home by an 85-76 final. UNF averages 78.5 PPG led by the ASUN's second-leading scorer in Chaz Lanier at 18.6 PPG.
 
SERIES HISTORY: Thursday will mark the 11th all-time meeting between UNA and UNF. The Ospreys lead the series with a 7-3 record, though UNA has won three of the last five. The Lions won last season's meeting by a 91-78 final and won the last meeting in Jacksonville by a 68-60 final in the 2021 ASUN Quarterfinals. The last true road game at UNF Arena resulted in an 82-72 win for North Florida in 2021.
 
HELPER, HELPER: Sophomore Jacari Lane enters this week with 100 assists on the season. He needs just eight more to tie his own Division I era record for single-season assists which he set at 108 as a freshman over 33 games. His 100 total this season has come in just 23 games.
 
DEFENSIVE TRENDS: This season, the Lions are 7-0 when allowing under 70 points but are 2-10 when giving up 80 or more. The two wins were both part of the four-game win streak, as UNA defeated Kennesaw State and Queens by a 90-84 final.
 
CAREER GUYS: Four-year players Will Soucie and Detalian Brown became just the second and third players in UNA Division I history to appear in over 100 games, joining Jamari Blackmon who played in 113 games from 2018-22. Dallas Howell is not far behind the pair at 86 games, needing one more to tie Aleksa Matic (2019-22) for the fourth-most Division I appearances at UNA.
 
SUNNY AND 75: UNA head coach Tony Pujol is in his sixth season at UNA and has a chance to earn his 75th win this week in Jacksonville. Over the last two seasons, Pujol has 29 wins overall and 15 wins in league play. Pujol is UNA's first and only men's basketball coach during the Division I era.
 
FOUR OVER A THOUSAND: The Lions have four players on the active roster who have scored 1,000 career points — Johnson, Smith Jr., 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 Lions will close their trip in Florida on Saturday at Jacksonville University. Opening tip is set for 2 p.m. CT.
 
For more information on North Alabama Athletics, visit www.roarlions.com and follow UNA Athletics on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.