FLORENCE – In front of a packed CB&S Bank Arena, the University of North Alabama dominated Austin Peay in a 90-64 win in the Atlantic Sun Conference men’s basketball tournament semifinals Monday night.
With the win, the No. 2 seed Lions (23-9) will host No. 4 seed Jacksonville on Thursday night at 6 p.m. inside CB&S Bank Arena. The winner will advance to face either top-seed Lipscomb or No. 6 Queens in the championship game Sunday at 1 p.m.
The Lions could keep the home court advantage if they win Thursday and Queens upsets Lipscomb. Otherwise, they would travel to Nashville if Lipscomb wins.
It was UNA’s first postseason home game as a Division I member, as they reached the semifinal round for a second straight season. The Lions are on the prowl for their first championship final appearance since 2021.
Junior Jacari Lane was virtually unstoppable Monday, scoring 31 points on 9-13 shooting from the floor and 7-8 shooting behind the arc.
Five Lions reached double figure scoring totals, including redshirt sophomore Corneilous Williams with 14 points and 14 rebounds for his 10th double-double of the season. Off the bench, junior Donte Bacchus added 16 points. Seniors Taye Fields and Daniel Ortiz added 12 and 10, respectively.
UNA was 13-22 behind the arc for a season-high 59.1%.
Lane set the tone immediately with a two-point jumper in the first 23 seconds, getting the crowd hyped. Later, UNA went on a 9-0 run to hop to a 20-9 lead. Austin Peay never pulled back within nine from that point on. Lane and Bacchus went on to combine for 30 points in the half.
Not cooling off after the break, Lane opened the second half with a triple in the first two minutes, pushing the lead to 21. The lead got as high as 30 points at one point as a Williams dunk made it 62-32 with 15:20 to go.
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