Both the men’s and women’s Lions basketball teams got knocked out of the NCAA Division II South Region Tournament in the opening rounds March 15-16.

The women’s team fell 51-41 to Delta State March 15.

In the game, the women committed 25 turnovers. The Statesman, who shot at only 27 percent from the floor, took 18 more shots than the Lions, getting most attempts off turnovers and offensive rebounds.

At the half, the Lions had 14 turnovers and trailed 23-15.

“We started a little slow, but I thought we were in good shape at the half,” said UNA head coach Terry Fowler in a March 15 press release. “We scored first in the second half, then just couldn’t get things going.”

In the second half, the Lions would not come closer than five points behind Delta State.

The loss to DSU broke a two-game winning streak against the Statesmen and ended the women’s season with a 20-11 record.

The men lost 90-84 to Florida Southern March 16.

After leading by four at the half, the Lions opened the half with a three-pointer from Rashaun Claiborne.

The Mocs, however, responded with the 14-2 run, including 10 straight points.

The Mocs led by as many as 11 points late in the game before the Lions made one last push. Behind 79-68, UNA used an 11-3 run to cut the deficit to just three points in the final 2:04 of play.

Claiborne scored 10 points during the run, but the Lions could get no closer than 82-79 after his jumper at the 2:04 mark.

A 12-1 run by the Mocs brought about the final score of 94-80.

“I kept being aggressive and kept shooting the ball,” Claiborne said. “My shots were falling.”

The loss ended the men’s season with a record of 19-9.

“I am extremely proud of this team,” said head coach Bobby Champagne in a March 16 press release.

“All year long, they have played hard. We were picked to finished fifth in our conference, and to make the NCAA Tournament is a tremendous accomplishment for us. We have a lot of guys coming back and are excited about the future.”