PEORIA, Ill. – A historic season that saw an Atlantic Sun Conference championship and a National Invitation Tournament bid came to an end Wednesday for the University of North Alabama men’s basketball team.
The Lions fell 71-62 to Bradley University in the first round of the NIT to wrap up the season.
UNA finishes with a 24-11 record — the most single-season wins for the program since 2008. That season, UNA was at the NCAA Division II level and made a run at the NCAA Elite Eight. This year, UNA received its first-ever invite to the NIT.
While UNA was a first-time participant, this was Bradley’s 24th appearance in the NIT. This ranks the Braves second behind St. John’s 30 appearances. The Braves will face George Mason in the NIT second round.
The Braves started on a 14-0 run and led 39-21 at the break. Lane got things going in the second half with an immediate bucket and the Lions pulled back within single digits midway through the second half.
UNA got back within four at the 2:05 mark, down 63-59, but Bradley held on.
Junior Donte Bacchus led the charge with 19 points, willing the Lions back in the second half. Fellow junior Jacari Lane — a Lou Henson Mid-Major Player of the Year finalist — added 12 points. He ends the season with 1,494 career points which stands as the school’s Division I record and ranks fourth all-time.
Two other Lions made joined Lane on the 1,000 career scoring list this season, marking the first time with three active 1,000 point scorers at UNA on the same team since 1971.
Senior Daniel Ortiz finishes with 1,315 career points to rank eighth all-time, while fifth-year Lion Will Soucie ends his storied career with 1,124 points in 151 career games. He is the only player in school history to play in over 150 games.
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