FLORENCE, Ala. — North Alabama rallied from an early 12-point deficit to rout Jacksonville 80-62 at CB&S Bank Arena for the Lions third straight ASUN Conference win.
The Lions took their first lead of the game with 17:13 left in the second half at 39-37 on two free throws from K.J. Johnson. UNA then added back-to-back baskets to push its lead to six. The lead continued to build to 19 points before the Lions settled for the 18-point win.
K.J. Johnson paced four Lions in double-figures with 20 points. Jacari Lane added 15, Daniel Ortiz 14 and Dallas Howell 12.
Jacksonville got off to a fast start and held an 8-0 advantage over the Lions before UNA could get on the board. The Dolphins pushed their advantage to 12 points at 18-6 before the Lions began to rally.
North Alabama fought back to trail just 33-32 at the half.
UNA continued to roll, pushing its lead to 16 points at 60-44 on a basket by Detalian Brown.
Howell led the Lions with nine rebounds to help push UNA to a 29-25 rebounding advantage over the Dolphins.
North Alabama shot 51.9 percent from the floor and hit eight three-point baskets.
With their third straight win, the Lions pushed their overall record to 12-10 and their ASUN record to 4-5. Jacksonville falls to 11-9 overall and 4-5 in the ASUN.
North Alabama hosts North Florida on Saturday at CB&S Bank Arena at 5:00 p.m.