NASHVILLE, Tenn. (March 9, 2025) – The University of North Alabama battled with pride on the national stage Sunday, facing Lipscomb in the 2025 Atlantic Sun Conference Championship. The Lions were defeated 76-65 inside Allen Arena in Nashville.
UNA and Lipscomb were co-regular season champions in the ASUN this season with matching 24-9 overall records and 14-4 records in league play. This marked UNA's second appearance in the championship game since moving to Division I seven seasons ago.
Both teams packed Allen Arena, as the UNA fanbase made up close to 50 percent of the gym.
The entertaining game had 10 lead changes, many of which came in a back-and-forth heavyweight slugfest in the second half. However, the turning point came with 5:22 left in the game, as UNA led 58-57.
Playing in foul trouble, redshirt sophomore Corneilous Williams was charged with an untimely foul that forced him out of the game. Lipscomb took advantage of the big man's absence from the paint and used a quick 5-0 run to take the lead for good.
The Lions fought despite a tough first half, where they fell behind by as many as 11 points. This did not stop the rally, as the momentum shifted early in the second half. First Team All-ASUN performer Jacari Lane knocked down a clutch three-pointer to flip the lead to 44-43 with 14 minutes remaining.
The game went back-and-forth for the next 10 minutes, but the home team began to pull away in the final minutes. Lipscomb will appear in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2018.
To open the game, Lipscomb made a pair of threes, then the Lions answered with a trio of twos for dualing 6-0 runs. Lipscomb began to inch ahead at the first media timeout, 13-8. UNA went down by as many as 11, but an 8-0 run made it 24-22 just before the under-eight media timeout.
Lane led the way with 18 points, followed by 15 from Williams and 10 from fifth-year senior Will Soucie. Soucie played in his 150th career game. Senior Taye Fields had a game-high 12 rebounds.
Lane and Fields were both named to the ASUN All-Tournament Team.
Selection Sunday is set for Sunday, March 16 on CBS. The rest of the postseason tournaments will be announced in the days to follow.
For more information on North Alabama Athletics, visit www.roarlions.com and follow UNA Athletics on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
