Clements backs up scoring reputation

FLORENCE - Daviel Clements came to North Alabama with the reputation as a scorer.

On Thursday night, Clements showed UNA fans that the reputation was well deserved.

Clements scored 17 points in a 5 minute span midway through the second half to help the Lions claim their first win of the season with a 95-86 victory over Henderson State.

"I had to find my shot," said Clements, who finished with 34 points. "Coach told me he brought me here to shoot and I hadn't been shooting well. I got in some shots before the game and felt pretty good. After I made that first 3-pointer, I just fed off the crowd."

Clements finished 12-of-18 from the field. The Alabama Southern transfer was 9-of-13 from 3-point range, tying a school record for 3-pointers in a game set by Milton Nance.

In addition to Clements, the Lions (1-1) picked up their intensity on defense in the second half. Henderson State scored 55 points in the first half and was held to 31 over the final 20 minutes.

"It was a much better defensive effort in the second half," coach Bobby Champagne said. "With 7 minutes left we had only given up 18 points in the second half, which was huge. A lot of that had to do with Eddie Lima coming in and clogging up the lane."

Henderson State led 54-49 at halftime and led 62-60 with 12:34 remaining when the Lions went to work. Marquel Darrington hit a 3-pointer to give the Lions the lead and Clements followed by burying a trey from the right win to put UNA up 66-62.

Clements followed with two more 3-pointers then a layup and another trey in a 13-0 run that gave the Lions a 79-63 lead with 6:36 remaining. Warrick Mastin later hit a 3-pointer from the top of the key to give UNA its largest lead at 87-68 with 4:42 to play.

"We did a good job reversing the ball and letting our offense work in the second half," Champagne said. "We finally were able to get a little confidence. I'm really pleased with the overall team effort. We had several guys come off the bench and step up for us."

Jared Strode added 20 points for the Lions, while Lima had 14 points off the bench. Kyle Oldham paced Henderson State (1-1) with 28 points.

Oldham hit 6-of-7 3-point attempts in the first half for 18 points as the Reddies took the 55-49 lead.

"He is a great shooter, but I love that kind of challenge," Clements said. "We picked up our intensity on defense and played hard every possession.

"It feels great to get my first Division II win. Now we've got to keep it going. I feel like everyone is starting to get on the same page and play as a team."

Darrington finished with six points, but led the Lions with six assists. Brett Jackson led UNA with 10 rebounds. UNA had just 16 turnovers to 23 for the Reddies.

"Marquel made some heady plays for us tonight," Champagne said. "He did a good job getting the ball to our post players and they did a good job asking for the ball. When Daviel got hot we did a good job finding him. We just did a much better job executing tonight."

UNA will host Ouachita Baptist on Saturday. The women's game will begin at 5 p.m. with the men to follow at 7 p.m.

Jeff McIntyre can be reached at 740-5737 or jeff.mcintyre@TimesDaily.com.