DELAND, Fla. (January 31, 2026) – A cold month of January ended with some heat on Saturday, as the University of North Alabama men's basketball team picked up a 68-66 road victory over Stetson for a pivotal Atlantic Sun Conference win in DeLand, Fla.
UNA (7-13, 2-7 ASUN) led for 32 minutes, but the game never truly felt secured until the final horn. The game included eight lead changes and five ties. UNA never surrendered the lead in the second half, but ended up breaking a 46-46 tie with a 13-0 run.
Stetson (8-15, 4-6 ASUN) never went away, dwindling the lead down to five in the final three minutes and pulling back within one possession with 58 seconds to go. Stetson got a stop and made a quick shot at the other end to make it 67-66. The Lions made one of two free throws and defended the potential game-winning three to snap a four-game skid.
A trio of Lions reached career-high totals on Saturday, including 23 points from senior
Donte Bacchus. His previous career-high of 22 points was set at the beginning of the month against Stetson back on New Year's Day.
Junior
Canin Jefferson had one of his most memorable games as a Lion, scoring 10 points with a career-high 10 assists for this first career double-double. The third-year player from New Orleans broke his previous career high of six assists early in the second half. Jefferson also had just two turnovers for a stellar 5.0 assist/turnover ratio.
Sixth-year senior
Dallas Howell was also instrumental in the win, scoring 18 points on four triples. Defensively, he matched a career high with four blocks, including three in the first eight minutes of action.
Redshirt junior
Corneilous Williams was limited to four points, but still made his presence felt in the post with a game-high 10 rebounds. This gives him 11 games with double-digit rebounding totals this season to go with 11 double-digit scoring games.
Stetson got 23 points from Collin Kuhl to tie Bacchus for the game high.
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Half: The first half had eight lead changes, though UNA led for over 13 minutes compared to just four minutes for Stetson. The Lions took a 32-29 lead at the half, using a 9-0 run to overcome an early 11-7 deficit to take a 16-11 lead. The final two minutes saw a tie score at 27-27, but the senior duo of
Donte Bacchus and
Dallas Howell combined for seven points in a final run to take the lead into the half. Bacchus, who has had success against Stetson the last two seasons, scored 14 points to lead all players in the first half.
Canin Jefferson added three points five assists in the first half, while
Dallas Howell added eight points and three blocks.
Corneilous Williams did not score, but grabbed five boards to help his team.
Braylon Patton had five points off the bench.
Second Half: Howell and Bacchus continued to battle the scoring of Finley Sheridan and Calvin Sirmans III early in the second half, as those four combined for all 16 by the first media break — UNA up 41-38. A few minutes later, the score was tied at 46-46. The Lions went on a 13-0 run to assert dominance again, marking the largest lead of the game with 7:50 remaining. Stetson chipped away, slowing down the Lions enough to get it back to a two-possession game at the final media timeout. Stetson eventually scored on back-to-back possessions to make it 67-66 with 15 seconds to go. Jefferson was fouled on the inbound, making one of two free throws to reach double-double territory and make it 68-66. The second shot missed, and Stetson dribbled down without a timeout. The only look UNA granted was a deep three-pointer from well behind the wing, which missed short and allowed the Lions to hold on.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
- The Lions have won two straight games in DeLand, Fla. Prior to last season, Stetson had a 5-0 record at home against UNA.
- The eight lead changes are the most for UNA since its 73-66 win over Jax State on Dec. 1, 2025.
- The 10 assists from Jefferson mark the first time a Lion has reached this total since Jacari Lane did it last season against Bellarmine on Jan. 2, 2025.
- Jefferson becomes the third player to net a double-double this season along with Williams and Bacchus.
- Bacchus is averaging 22.5 PPG against Stetson this season.
- UNA shot over 50 percent for the better part of the game, but finished 25-52 for 48.1 percent. Stetson went 23-57 for 40.4 percent.
- Both teams went 6-21 from downtown for 28.6 percent.
- Stetson went 14-16 from the line while UNA went 12-18.
- The Lions lost the rebound battle 34-32 but had a 36-34 advantage in paint scoring.
- Both teams had 11 turnovers, but Stetson outscored UNA 15-8 off those turnovers.
- Both teams totaled 14 fouls.
COMING UP NEXT
The Lions conclude a five-game road swing this upcoming week with trips to Central Arkansas on Wednesday and Austin Peay on Saturday. Tipoff on Wednesday in Conway, Ark. is set for 6:30 p.m.
For more information on North Alabama Athletics, visit www.roarlions.com and follow UNA Athletics on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
