LAKELAND â€" After seven straight games on the road, Florida Southern finally had a chance to play on its home court Tuesday afternoon for the first time all season. North Alabama spoiled the homecoming though, as the Lions overcame a 10-point first-half deficit to defeat the Moccasins 56-48 in the first game of the Terrace Hotel Classic.

Only one other Division II team in the country was playing its home opener later than Florida Southern (Azusa Pacific was scheduled to tip off later on Tuesday night), which had won four in a row going into Tuesday's action. That streak came to an end, however, even though Florida Southern (4-4) gave up less than 60 points for the fifth straight game. Meanwhile, North Alabama (9-2) scored its lowest point total of the season, but the Lions managed to extend their winning streak to six games. In order to do that, they had to dig out of the early hole the Mocs put them in, and make just enough free throws in the final minute to hold on to the lead once they had it.

Five minutes into the game, Florida Southern led 13-3 behind five points from senior Kirstin McIntyre (Hopewell Junction, NY), 3-pointers from junior Taylor Maldonado (Stroudsburg, PA) and senior Tracy Fosterling (Albuquerque, NM) , and a bucket from freshman Ali Sanders (Carpentersville, IL). It was a three-point play by McIntyre that put the Mocs up by 10, part of a 3-minute stretch that saw Florida Southern score on four out of five possessions.

The Moccasins had an 8-point lead with a little over five minutes left in the first half when they suddenly went cold. The Lions scored the final nine points of the half, starting with back-to-back layups by Sarah Bailey. Jennifer Towne’s 3-pointer with 1:42 remaining cut the gap to one, and Corrine White hit a jumper in the closing seconds to put UNA ahead 24-23 at the break.

Maldonado briefly gave Florida Southern the lead again with a 3-pointer early in the second half, only to have Bailey come right back with another basket for UNA that started an 8-1 run. Bailey and Nichelle Fillmore did all of that scoring for North Alabama, and it put the Lions up 34-28 five minutes into the second half.

Four times over the next 6½ minutes, Florida Southern got within two points, but each time North Alabama would follow with a score of its own. Eventually the Lions took a 46-38 lead with 7:22 to play, only to have the Moccasins run off eight consecutive points to tie the game. Fosterling keyed that run with four free throws, and knotted things up at the line with 4:10 remaining.

Once again, Bailey responded for North Alabama with a tie-breaking basket and the senior guard later knocked down a pair of free throw to give the Lions a 50-46 advantage going into the final minute. Two more free throws made it 52-46 before Fosterling cut the deficit down to four with 30 seconds to play. Florida Southern was forced to foul after that, and UNA survived by making 4-of-6 shots from the line while the Mocs missed two field goal attempts.

Bailey led all scorers in the game with 19 points, making 7-of-10 field goal attempts and 5-of-6 free throws. She was the only North Alabama player to score in double figures after coming into the game with a 7.2 scoring average, good for fourth on the team. Fillmore scored eight points for the Lions, but was limited to 14 minutes due to foul trouble, and in fact fouled out with 3:37 remaining. UNA’s top scorer for the season, Mekena Randle, had seven points and 10 rebounds.

The Lions shot 41 percent from the floor, but were only 1-for-11 from 3-point range.

Florida Southern was led by McIntyre and Fosterling, who each scored 13 points, and Maldonado, who scored 12 while playing all 40 minutes. McIntyre also had nine rebounds, and freshman Caitlin Lindsey (Port Charlott, FL) was a big contributor on defense with four steals.

The Moccasins shot 33 percent overall, and were 3-for-9 from long range, with Maldonado going 2-for-3.

Florida Southern will play Alabama-Huntsville on day two of the Terrace Hotel Classic, with tip-off scheduled for 3:15 on Wednesday afternoon.