CORAL GABLES, Fla. (November 13, 2026) – The University of North Alabama men's basketball team faced a nationally-ranked opponent for the first time since 2024 on Friday night, falling 94-52 against the No. 17 Miami Hurricanes at the Watsco Center in Coral Gables, Fla.
The Lions (2-2) took an early 5-3 lead on a three-pointer by senior forward Damarien Yates, then pulled back within two at 16-14 on a triple by graduate guard Quan Lax. The game began to turn after that, as the nationally-ranked Hurricanes (3-1) went on a 19-2 run and took control the rest of the way.
The Canes shot three-pointers at a high rate and limited UNA defensively, but UNA snapped out of a second-half dry spell with a late 8-0 run with 5:01 left in the game.
Sophomore guard Cortez Graham-Howard led UNA's scorers with 10 points. This was the fourth double-digit scoring game of his career and his first of the season. Eight other Lions made at least one field goal in the contest, including three triples from Lax and two from Graham-Howard and junior Ansar Osman.
Miami was led by Brent Bland with a career-high 26 points, going 8-13 from downtown.
This ends a two-game road swing for UNA that included power conference teams Oklahoma and Miami. The Lions fell by single digits against Oklahoma at 81-72. Now, the Lions can look forward to three-straight games inside the friendly confines of CB&S Bank Arena.
UNA returns home Monday for the annual Elementary Day game. Tipoff is set 11 a.m. inside CB&S Bank Arena. Roughly 2,000 children are expected to attend from various local elementary schools.
For more information on North Alabama Athletics, visit www.roarlions.com and follow UNA Athletics on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
