FLORENCE, Ala. (February 25, 2026) – Seniors Dallas Howell and Donte Bacchus suited up for the final time in CB&S Bank Arena on Wednesday, and both rose to the occasion with a combined 38 points in a 73-68 win over Bellarmine on senior night in Florence.

With the 2026 Atlantic Sun Conference Championship one week away in Jacksonville, Fla., the Lions (9-19, 4-13 ASUN) gained some valuable momentum on Wednesday. UNA is now a half-game back of North Florida for the 11 seed. UNF will play FGCU on Thursday. Both teams have one game remaining on Saturday.

Howell, a sixth-year senior, was the sparkplug in the first half with 14 points. He finished with 18 points tonight — his 126th career game — and went 4-10 behind the arc. Bacchus finished with a team-high 20 points and 13 rebounds for his second double-double this season.

Prior to the game, UNA also honored forward Jamal Albritton and student manager Chase Hawkins. Albritton has been with the program for three seasons, while Hawkins has served behind-the-scenes since 2021.

UNA led for 31 minutes, but never led by more than eight points. The eight-point lead came with 1:01 remaining.

Bellarmine (11-18, 6-11 ASUN) did enough to hang around in the final minute, getting back-to-back makes from Kenyon Goodin to cut the lead to 71-68 with 10 seconds to go. Needing two free throws, sophomore Kevin de Kovachich iced the game by making both.

The Lions have won two of the last four games, including two of the last three at home. Tonight's crowd of 2,251 keeps UNA atop the ASUN in average attendance with 2,345 fans per game. Austin Peay, the ASUN leader, is second with 2,172 per game.

Two more Lions joined Howell and Bacchus in double figures, including the 12th double-double of the season for redshirt junior Corneilous Williams with 17 points and 10 rebounds. Off the bench, freshman Cortez Graham-Howard finished with a career-high 15 points on 6-9 shooting.

Facing one of the top scoring and assist teams in the ASUN, UNA limited the Knights to just 20 percent behind the arc. Coming into the game, Bellarmine ranked 15th in the NCAA with a 38.4 three-point shooting percentage. UNA also limited Bellarmine to just five assists where they averaged 15.3 per game entering tonight.

Both teams shot 23-49 for 47 percent, but UNA went 6-18 from downtown to double Bellarmine's output. UNA also went 21-29 from the line for 72.4 percent, including 10-14 for Bacchus.

For the second straight meeting, UNA dominated Bellarmine on the boards with a 35-22 advantage. Bellarmine had just 19 rebounds in the January meeting this season — the fewest by a UNA opponent since 2015. The 22 tonight are the second-lowest this season. The next-lowest after that is Lane College in the home opener with 27 rebounds.

Next on the docket is the regular season finale at West Georgia. Tipoff is set for this Saturday at 1 p.m. in Carrollton, Ga. Following this will be the 2026 ASUN Championship Tournament in Jacksonville from March 4-8.

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