FLORENCE, Ala. (February 1, 2025) – In one night, the North Alabama men's basketball team celebrated, a career milestone, a birthday and its all-time largest win in an Atlantic Sun Conference game with a 94-65 win over Central Arkansas late Saturday night inside CB&S Bank Arena.
The win puts UNA in a four-way tie for second in the ASUN standings at 15-8 overall and 7-3 in conference play.
With exactly five minutes left in the fourth quarter, fifth-year senior
Will Soucie stepped to the free throw line with 999 career points. Just moments prior, members of UNA's student section, known as "The Vault," chanted "We want Soucie" while he took a breather on the bench. He entered the game and was fouled.
Soucie sank the free throw and received a standing ovation, as he became the 30th player to score 1,000 career points in a Lion uniform. Soucie is the all-time record holder for games played at UNA with 139 appearances. Last season against Central Arkansas, he broke the Division I school record with 114 appearances.
Soucie joined an elite club of players, two of which include teammates
Daniel Ortiz and
Jacari Lane. Ortiz led the Lions with 21 points, going 8-18 from the floor and 5-15 behind the arc. Lane finished with 17 points, including eight points at the first media timeout.
True freshman
Kevin de Kovachich celebrated his 20th birthday on Saturday and did so in style, scoring 16 points in just under 16 minutes. He shot 7-9 from the floor and 2-3 behind the arc. Sophomore
Canin Jefferson also finished in double figures with 10 points on 4-5 shooting.
Redshirt sophomore
Corneilous Williams was the leading rebounder with six to go with seven points. Eleven different Lions grabbed a rebound, while 10 had at least one made field goal.
Central Arkansas (6-17, 2-8 ASUN) scored the first two points of the night, but only led for 15 seconds as Lane sank a pull-up three-pointer at the other end. UNA went on a 14-0 run after that to make it 19-5 and never let the Bears back within 10 points.
UCA was led by Brayden Fagbemi with 25 points and eight assists, both game highs.
Earlier this season, UNA defeated Stetson 92-64 for its largest win margin against an Atlantic Sun Conference opponent all-time. Tonight, UNA broke that record with a 29-point win margin at home.
Tonight, UNA wore its throwback Florence State jerseys. The white uniform features a retro lion logo on the shorts and the words "Florence" and "State" sandwiching the number — all in purple font with a gold trim. This jersey pays homage to the school's name change from Florence State University to the University of North Alabama 51 years ago in 1974.
Prior to the game, UNA honored Hall of Fame coaches Bobby Wallace and Mike D. Lane with a special ceremony. The two coaches will have fields named after them at Bank Independent Stadium, which is currently under construction on campus next to CB&S Bank Arena.
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Half: UNA set the tone with a 14-0 run in the first six minutes, taking a 19-5 lead. The Lions had their best first half shooting percentage of the season, going 20-30 for 66.7 percent. UNA has shot over 50 percent multiple times in a first half this season, but this marked the first time over 60 percent. Lane led the Lions with 13 points on 5-7 shooting.
Second Half: UNA brought an 18-point lead out of the locker room and only grew it from there, using a three-pointer by
Daniel Ortiz on the first UNA possession to set the tone. This came after two offensive rebounds, including one by
Corneilous Williams to set up an assist from senior
Taye Fields. Ortiz hit another after that to make it a 24-point lead. UNA stayed ahead by at least 20 for the final 10:47 of the game. The highlight of the night came with 5:00 on the clock, as Soucie reached 1,000 career points.
Kevin de Kovachich had eight of the last 10 points. The other two were scored by junior
Mitchell Chaffee with just over two minutes to go.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
- UNA led for over 38 minutes and trailed for just 15 seconds early on.
- UNA finished 37-64 for 57.8 percent, setting a new season-high for field goals made.
- UCA made 14 less field goals, going 23-53 for 43 percent.
- Both teams were a threat behind the arc, as UNA finished 14-30 and UCA went 13-29. UNA had a slight 47-45 percentage advantage.
- Both teams struggled from the line, going 6-13 apiece for 46 percent.
- Tonight was the seventh-straight game where UNA had four players in double figures.
- Both teams had 33 rebounds and 16 assists.
- UNA won the turnover battle handily at 15-4, including 12 steals. Five players had multiple steals for UNA — Soucie, Ortiz, Fields, de Kovachich and junior Donte Bacchus.
- UNA had a 16-4 advantage in points off turnovers.
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UNA dominated the paint, outscoring UCA 42-18.
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UNA also had a 37-16 advantage in bench scoring, most of which came late.
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Jacari Lane moved alone into eighth place on the all-time scoring list with 1,271 career points. He needs 55 points to tie UNA Hall of Famer Sam Hardy for seventh at 1,326 career points. Hardy played from 1950-53.
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UNA improves to 538-186 all-time at home, a 74.2 win percentage.
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Tonight was the 60th home win under head coach Tony Pujol, who took over the program in 2018. He has a record of 60-27 for a 68.9 win percentage.
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In five ASUN home games, UNA is outscoring opponents by an average of 85-69 for a 16-point scoring margin. This includes five wins over Bellarmine, EKU, Lipscomb, Austin Peay and Central Arkansas. Four of the five were won by double digits.
- 6 – This is the number of free boneless wings that fans can retrieve at the Buffalo Wild Wings location in Florence after every UNA win with the purchase of six wings. Fans are encouraged to show their ticket or the social media graphic to retrieve the offer.
- 80 – Anytime the Lions score 80 or more points, fans who attended the game can go to Rosie's Cantina in Downtown Florence to get a free cup of queso. Fans must show proof of attendance to retrieve.
- 60 – Anytime the Lions score 60 or more points, fans can head to Culver's on Cloverdale Road to retrieve a free single scoop of custard by using the online code "CUSTARD4LIONS" as part of the "Swish for a Dish" promotion.
COMING UP NEXT
The Lions travel to Clarksville, Tenn. on Wednesday for a highly-anticipated game against Austin Peay. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. at F&M Bank Arena.
For more information on North Alabama Athletics, visit www.roarlions.com and follow UNA Athletics on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
