FLORENCE – University of North Alabama senior forward Damian Forrest was selected to the Atlantic Sun All-Academic team for a second straight season and Lions sophomore Jacari Lane was named First Team All-ASUN.
Forrest was the only unanimous selection for the eight-player academic team, which was voted on by the conference’s sports information directors and academic representatives.
One year after being named the ASUN Freshman of the Year, the ASUN Sixth Man of the Year, and a unanimous selection to the ASUN All-Freshman team, Lane followed up with his first all-conference team selection.
Putting up numbers
A senior forward, Forrest is pursuing his MBA in finance and owns a 3.81 grade point average. Last season, Forrest was named to the Academic All-ASUN Team, the College Sports Communicators Academic All-District Team, and was named a 2022-23 ASUN Winter Winner For Life.
On the court, Forrest finished the regular season averaging 10.1 points and 8.1 rebounds per game, ranking him second in the ASUN. In his most recent outing, Forrest scored 18 points with seven rebounds, two blocks and two steals in an 82-78 win over Central Arkansas.
The Colorado native also had a career-high 21 points to go with nine rebounds at Lipscomb this season. He has started 90 games over the last three seasons at UNA, ranking fourth all-time in most Division I games played in a UNA uniform.
The Academic All-ASUN Team recognizes players with a 3.5 cumulative GPA or higher and played in at least half of their team’s games.
Huntsville native named First Team All-ASUN
Lane, a Lee High School graduate, averages 14.9 points per game and is the only UNA player to start all 30 games this season. Lane has 23 games with double figure scoring totals and ranks among the top 15 ASUN players in scoring, free throw percentage and shooting percentage.
The All-ASUN team is voted on by the league’s head coaches.
This season, Lane broke his own UNA Division I single-season assists record with 113 assists. He ranks sixth in the league with a 1.7 assists/turnover ratio and seventh with 3.8 assists per game.
For the season, Lane is shooting 43% from the field, going 150-348. He is 37% from behind the arc (24-65) and is 82% at the free throw line with 123 makes, ranking fourth in the ASUN.
Forrest, Lane, and the Lions will begin their run for the 2024 ASUN Championship tonight against No. 3 seed Lipscomb in Nashville. Tip is set for 7 p.m. at Allen Arena.
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