FLORENCE, Ala. (November 9, 2023) – The University of North Alabama men’s basketball team improved to 2-0 on the season Thursday, defeating traditional in-state rival Alabama A&M by an 83-67 final inside CB&S Bank Arena in Florence. 

 

UNA used an early 7-0 run to open scoring and led from start to finish, taking a double-digit lead into the half. The Lions maintained at least a two-possession lead the rest of the way, leading by as much as 24 points late in the second half. 

 

Three Lions achieved double-figure scoring totals, led by senior KJ Johnson with 16 points. Johnson and junior newcomer Josiah Fulcher both have back-to-back double figure scoring games, with Fulcher adding 12 points and eight rebounds tonight. 

 

Reigning ASUN Freshman of the Year and Sixth Man of the Year Jacari Lane chipped in 15 points over 21 minutes, while adding a team-high four assists. Damian Forrest led UNA in rebounding for the second straight game with 11, while just missing a double-double with nine points. 

 

Alabama A&M was led by Dailin Smith with 15 points and four boards. The Bulldogs drop to 0-1, as tonight was their official season opener. AAMU defeated Oakwood 111-59 in an exhibition on Monday. 

 

The Lions now own a 20-6 all-time record against the Bulldogs, dating back to 1970. The only time Alabama A&M defeated UNA on the road came back in 1974. 

 

 

HOW IT HAPPENED 

 

FIRST HALF: After two minutes of shutout defense on both sides, the Lions jumped ahead with a 7-0 run on a jumper by Will Soucie and five points from Lane. UNA later doubled this lead at 19-9 with a transition three from junior Marco Foster on a cross court pass from true freshman Canin Jefferson. The lead stayed steady with UNA leading by at least two possessions all the way to the half —40-30. Lane led all players with 11 first half points. 

 

SECOND HALF: UNA started on a 5-0 run to open the second half on two free throws by Lane and a step-back triple from Tim Smith Jr. Alabama A&M quickly answered with a 7-0 run to cut the margin back to single digits, bringing about the first media timeout. After that, Forrest swung momentum back to the home team with a successful and-one opportunity. Up 51-43 midway through, the Lions got another surge of momentum on back-to-back triples from Detalian Brown and Fulcher. Fulcher scored again on a hustle steal from Eoin Nelson and Jefferson added another steal-and-score to excite the crowd and make it 61-45.  

 

In the final 10 minutes, UNA’s lead grew to over 20 points with the Lions up 68-47 with just over 7:00 remaining. AAMU never recovered at that point, as UNA finished off a 43-37 second half advantage. 

 

 

INSIDE THE NUMBERS 

 

• UNA shot nearly 50 percent tonight, going 26-54 from the field for 48 percent. Meanwhile, the Bulldogs finished 20-56 for 36 percent. 

 

• Soucie scored the first basket of the game just over two minutes in. UNA officially led for 37:59 of game time.  

 

• UNA’s first 21 points were scored outside the paint or at the free throw line. A layup by Johnson broke this trend with 10:49 left in the first half. Despite this, UNA won the paint battle 28-26. 

 

• Johnson went 8-8 from the free throw line, getting half his points from the floor and half on freebies. Johnson was on the receiving end of six AAMU fouls. 

 

• Soucie and Fulcher each had three steals to lead all players. 

 

• UNA had a 24-12 advantage in points off turnovers and a 27-12 advantage in fast break scoring. 

 

• Seven different players made a triple for UNA, including two from Foster.  

 

• For the second straight game, Hugh Hargett entered for the final two minutes and hit his lone three-point attempt.  

 

• Eleven players scored for UNA for the second straight game. 

 

• The Lions are now 11-4 inside CB&S Bank Arena over the last two seasons. 

 

• UNA improves to a 23-2 all-time record under Coach Tony Pujol in non-conference home games, including 13 straight wins dating back to 2020. 

 

• Six — this is the number of free boneless wings that fans can retrieve at the Buffalo Wild Wings location in Florence after every UNA win with the purchase of six wings. Fans are encouraged to show their ticket or the social media graphic to retrieve the offer. 

 

COMING UP NEXT 

 

The Lions hit the road for the first time this season on Tuesday, Nov. 14 as they play Mississippi State. Opening tip is set for 6:30 p.m. in Starkville. 

 

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