CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. (February 4, 2025) – A new and exciting basketball rivalry has emerged between North Alabama and Austin Peay, as the Lions and Govs will duke it out on Wednesday night at 7 p.m. inside F&M Bank Arena in Clarksville, Tenn.
 
UNA and Austin Peay have met five times since UNA's move to Division I in 2018 and Austin Peay's move to the Atlantic Sun Conference in 2022. Two of the five games were decided in overtime and four of the five were decided by single digit margins. There have also been 43 lead changes over those five games.
 
The Lions are looking for the regular season sweep after an 88-84 overtime win just 10 days ago in Florence. Last season, Austin Peay had the three-game sweep with two regular season wins and a 77-71 win in the ASUN Semifinal Round last season.
 
The game will air on ESPN+ with Barry Gresham and Ethan Schmidt on the call. "Voice of the Lions" Benjamin Ray will have the hometown call on WLX Radio, 98.3 and 103.5 FM in the Shoals. Live stats are available on StatBroadcast and SIDEARM.
 
GAME INFORMATION
Game: North Alabama vs. Austin Peay
Date: Wednesday, February 5
Time: 7 p.m.
Location: Clarksville, Tennessee
Venue: F&M Bank Arena
Capacity: 5,500
Watch Party: Mugshots in Downtown Florence
Watch: ESPN+ (Barry Gresham and Ethan Schmidt)
Radio: WLX 98.3 & 103.5 FM ("Voice of the Lions" Benjamin Ray)
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
Tickets: Click Here
Game Notes: Click Here
Social Media: @UNA_Basketball
 
NOTES

LAST TIME OUT: North Alabama dominated from start to finish on Saturday, defeating Central Arkansas 94-65 inside CB&S Bank Arena. Fifth-year senior Will Soucie scored his 1,000th career point with 5:00 remaining in the second half, while four other Lions scored double figures. Daniel Ortiz led the way with 21 points on five triples, Jacari Lane added 17 points, true freshman Kevin de Kovachich handled the backend of the game with 16 points and Canin Jefferson finished with 10.
 
SCOUTING THE LIONS: North Alabama is 15-8 overall and 7-3 in ASUN play, putting the Lions in a four-way tie for second in the ASUN standings behind FGCU at 8-2. UNA is second in the ASUN with 79.2 PPG and fourth with just 71.6 PPG allowed. UNA is also among the top rebounding and turnover teams in the ASUN, ranking third with 37.7 rebounds per game and second with a 2.78 turnover margin.
 
SCOUTING THE GOVS: Austin Peay is 9-14 overall and 4-6 in ASUN play, including strong non-conference wins over Butler, Chattanooga and Georgia State. Last week, the Govs won in overtime against Bellarmine and lost 88-82 at EKU. Austin Peay is the second-lowest scoring team in the ASUN at 69.4 PPG, but rank sixth with 74.3 PPG allowed. The Govs are led by LJ Thomas with 14.0 PPG, Sai Witt with 13.6 PPG and Isaac Haney with 11.8 PPG.
 
SERIES HISTORY: Austin Peay has a 24-7 record over 31 meetings, but only five of those have come since UNA's move to Division I in 2018. UNA is 2-3 in those games with a win in 2023, three losses in 2024 and a win in 2025. Prior to 2023, the last meeting between the two came in 1963. The series began in 1949 in the first season under UNA Hall of Fame head coach Ed Billingham.
 
STATE OF BASKETBALL: The state of Alabama has a case for the best basketball state in the nation right now. Eight of the 10 Division I basketball programs in Alabama are ranked among the top 150 teams in the NET rankings, including UNA at 133. The state has a combined record of 69-27 in conference games so far. Auburn (SEC), Samford (Southern) and Jacksonville State (Conference USA) all lead their respective conferences, while Alabama (SEC), North Alabama (ASUN), Troy (Sun Belt) and UAB (American) are second. South Alabama is third in the Sun Belt. This case even extends to the Division II level, as Alabama-Huntsville is 20-1 overall and ranked fourth in the nation.
 
WATCH OUT FOR LANE: Junior guard Jacari Lane was named to the Lou Henson Early Season Watch List, an award given to the top mid-major basketball player each season. Lane has also won ASUN Player of the Week four times this season and six times in his career, which is tied for the fifth-most in league history. He is averaging 16.6 PPG and is the only remaining first team All-ASUN selection back in the league this year.
 
TRIO OF GREATNESS: For the first time since 1971, UNA has three active 1,000 point scorers on the same team — Jacari Lane, Daniel Ortiz and Will Soucie. This only includes players that have scored 1,000 points at the school. The 1971 team included Larry Smith, Don Faint and Tommy Ledbetter. There has only been two other teams with a pair of active 1,000 point scorers in UNA history — 1980 with Otis Boddie and Gerald Lavendar and 2009 with Kenny Johnson and Thomas Fraise.
 
WEEKLY AWARD REGULARS: UNA has won the most ASUN Player and Newcomer of the Week awards in the ASUN this season with eight, including two last week thanks to Jacari Lane as Player of the Week and Daniel Ortiz as Newcomer of the Week. Lane has four this season, while Taye Fields has two weekly awards. Ortiz and Corneilous Williams have earned one each.
 
FAST TO TEN: Senior Taye Fields accomplished an interesting feat earlier this season, as he currently has the fastest-recorded double-double in the NCAA, according to NCAA reports. He reached 11 points and 10 rebounds at the 6:18 mark of the first half against Stetson and finished with 23 points and 17 rebounds. The second fastest is perhaps the best player in the NCAA this season, Auburn's Johni Broome, who reached a double-double at the 5:18 mark against Ohio State.
 
CAREER GUY: Fifth-year senior Will Soucie is the all-time leader in career games for UNA with 139 appearances. He also has 95 career starts, including a 52-game start streak that ended midway through last season. He is having a career campaign with 10.4 PPG.
 
FIRE IT UP: Ortiz is not afraid to pull up behind the arc, as he is third in the nation with 213 three-point attempts. Not only does he shoot them, but he makes them. Ortiz ranks 12th nationally with 73 made triples for a respectable 34.3 percentage.
 
BALL PROTECTION: UNA ranks sixth in the nation with just 9.3 turnovers per game, while ranking 44th with a plus-2.8 turnover margin. Of 364 teams in the NCAA, only 21 turn the ball over less than 10 times per game.
 
BOARD THE HYPE TRAIN: UNA has the top two rebounders in the ASUN, as Fields averages 8.7 rebounds per game and redshirt sophomore Corneilous Williams averages 8.3 RPG. Williams is the only player in the ASUN to grab over 100 rebounds in non-conference play.

THE MAGIC NUMBER IS 70: UNA is 15-2 when scoring at least 70 points and 0-6 when scoring under 70 points. Defensively, the Lions are 13-1 when giving up 70 points or less. UNA is 2-7 when allowing more than 70 points.

ON DECK: On Saturday, UNA will renew a classic rivalry with former Gulf South Conference foe and newest ASUN member West Georgia. Tipoff is set for 1 p.m. in Carrollton, Ga.

For more information on North Alabama Athletics, visit www.roarlions.com and follow UNA Athletics on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.