The North Alabama men’s basketball team is starting to gain momentum as they secured a second win in a row Jan. 19 against the Lee Flames 83-66 at Flowers Hall.

The Lions (9-7, 4-6 Gulf South Conference) found strength in the paint as they out rebounded the Flames (9-7, 5-5 GSC) 45-21 in the victory.

“Rebounding was huge for us,” said Lions head coach Bobby Champagne. “They had four offensive rebounds while we had 19, so I’m excited that we won the rebound battle. I’m real proud that we had multiple guys getting those (rebounds).”

Senior forward Austin Timms led the team with 13 rebounds, while junior guard Johnell Ginnie and sophomore guard Tavaras Tolliver followed up with nine and seven rebounds respectively.

Tolliver was also the leading scorer on the night with 23 points.

“It feels great to get this win,” Tolliver said. “We grouped up in practice and worked on everything down to the basics so we could figure out what we needed to work on.”

Tolliver said he could feel momentum swinging in the Lions favor in the home stretch of the season.

“I think we are about to turn this thing around,” he said. “Everybody is being positive. Nobody is being negative, and we are pushing each other every day. I just thank God for this team.”

UNA travels to Shorter Jan. 21 to face the GSC scoring leaders in a pivotal road game. The Lions then host Mississippi College Jan. 26 at Flowers Hall.