Men’s basketball dominates Tennessee Tech, 82-59

FLORENCE, Ala. (December 4, 2024) — North Alabama scored on the first possession of the game Wednesday night against Tennessee Tech and never looked back, earning an 82-59 victory over the Golden Eagles at CB&S Bank Arena in Florence.

The Lions (6-4) led with a dominant performance from the start, expanding a 10-point halftime lead to a 23-point win. Five players scored in double figures, led by the fifth-grader Will Soucie with 16 points on 7-12 shooting. Redshirt sophomore Corneilous Williams posted his third double-double of the season with 12 points and 12 rebounds.

Defensively, the Lions held Tennessee Tech (4-5) to 59 points. This is the third time in 10 games that UNA has limited an opponent to under 60 points. Last season, UNA did this twice all season.

Today’s win tied the school record for largest margin of victory against a Division I opponent. The last time this happened was a 73-50 win over Mississippi Valley State on November 7, 2019.

Tonight, the Golden Eagles had shot at least ten three-pointers in every game except the last game against Vanderbilt. Tonight, TTU took a 9:30 lead and shot 21:55 from the floor.

The Lions countered with an outstanding shooting day and achieved a new season high in baskets scored with 35:72.

Other leaders of the UNA included the Junior Guard Jacari Lane With 15 points and four assists, he matched his season average. Junior Donte Bacchus He added 10 points on 4-5 shooting while a senior Daniel Ortiz had an early lead for 10 points on three triples. Taye Fields was also an impact player with six points, 12 rebounds and three assists. One of the three assists was an alley-oop for Williams.

Tennessee Tech had three players in double figures, led by Daniel Egbuniwe with 12 points.

HOW IT HAPPENED

First half: UNA started with a 5-0 lead in the first 47 seconds after a layup by Williams and a trey by Ortiz. A later 6-0 run by TTU made it 16:15, but it wouldn’t have been close until the end. Ortiz and Lane each scored 10 points in the first half, helping the Lions to a double-digit lead through the media timeout by halftime.



Second half: Tennessee Tech started the second half 0-6 and later 1-10 from the field, allowing UNA to extend its lead to 55-38 by the second media timeout. UNA went on an 8-0 run to start and stayed quiet the rest of the way. The lead grew to over 20 points, perhaps as a result of the game when Fields threw an alley-oop to Williams that made it 72-51 with five minutes left. Tennessee Tech took a 2:13 lead behind the arc and failed to erase the deficit.



WITHIN THE NUMBERS

• UNA shot 48.6 percent, its second best shooting game of the season. The other time was against UT Martin, an 87-69 win.
  

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• UNA attempted a season-low in free throws at 5-7. However, UNA set a new season high with 72 field goal attempts.
  

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• UNA won the boards 43-29. This represents a new season low for any UNA opponent this season.
  

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• UNA tied its season low with five turnovers and forced 11 turnovers.
  

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• The Lions had 10 fouls, their second fewest this season behind nine against Dalton State. Tennessee Tech had just nine fouls, a season low for UNA’s opponents.
  

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• The all-time series is now at UNA with a 3-2 record.
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  6 – This is the number of free boneless wings fans can receive with the purchase of six wings at the Buffalo Wild Wings Florence location after each UNA win. Fans are asked to show their ticket or social media graphic to claim the offer.

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• 60 – If the Lions score at least 60 points, fans can go to Culver’s the next day and score a free single serving of Flavor of the Day custard with an online purchase using the code CUSTARD4LIONS. Only available at the Cloverdale Road location in Florence.
  

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• 80 – Whenever the Lions score 80 or more points, fans who attended the game can receive a free cup of queso at Rosie’s Cantina in downtown Florence. Fans must present proof of attendance for pickup.

COMING NEXT

UNA has a week off from competition and will return to action next Wednesday, December 11th at East Carolina. Tipoff is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. CT in Greenville, NC



For more information about North Alabama Athletics, visit www.roarlions.com and keep following UNA Athletics Facebook, Twitter And Instagram.