DAHLONEGA – The No. 14 University of North Georgia men's basketball team has a date in the NCAA Division II Southeast Regional Championship on Tuesday, Mar. 19 inside Lynn Cottrell Arena at the UNG Convocation Center. The Nighthawks will tip-off against Peach Belt rival Lander at 7 p.m. with a trip to Evansville, Ind. and the 2024 NCAA Men's Basketball Championships on the line.

This will be the third meeting of the season between Lander and UNG. The Bearcats took both regular season contests against the Nighthawks in a pair of top-25 showdowns. 

The tenured history between these two teams is a long and storied one. The rivalry dates back 48 years to 1975 when UNG wrote the first chapter of the novel with a 102-88 win. They saw each other again 10 years later in 1985 and the Nighthawks won one more time, 67-56. After that, the two would not meet on the same floor again for 21 years.

Lander eventually elevated to NCAA Division II status in 1997. Once UNG did the same in 2006, joining the PBC in the process, the two teams had the opportunity to trade blows regularly. In total, they've met in competition 30 times. Lander has 15 wins. UNG has 15 wins. 

Since head coach Dan Evans took over for the Nighthawks in the 2019-20 season neither team has been swept against the other in the season series. This season marks the first ever in which one team won both regular season matchups.

Tuesday's championship matchup will be the first in either school's history in which the two teams will meet for a third time in one season. They have never faced each other in the NCAA Tournament or PBC Tournament. 

In the regular season, Lander firmly handled UNG on its way to a 78-60 win at home back in January. 

The Bearcats shot 41.9 percent from the floor and 43.9 percent from downtown. Head coach Omar Wattad's team drilled a season-high 18 triples in the win. 

Lander limited the Nighthawks on offense as well. Sophomore point guard AJ White and junior forward Frank Champion combined for just 12 points in the game. 

Champion only attempted two shots from the floor and the duo (who both rank in the top three in the PBC in total free throw attempts) took just one foul shot between the two of them in the game.

Lander had three players in double figures led by junior forward Inady Legiste with 19 points.

The February rematch in Dahlonega was a different story statistically but still saw the same letters located in the win - loss columns for each team. UNG shot the ball much better from the floor in what ended up being a heartbreaking 82-80 loss. 

The Nighthawks made 49.1 percent of shots and went 21-of-27 at the free throw line. White and Champion had 16 and 11 points respectively while Champion added five rebounds and seven assists. 

Junior forward Greg Billups, Jr. led UNG in scoring with 17 points, but it was surprise candidate Jacob Cooper who dropped 19 for Lander to lead all scorers. The sophomore guard went 7-of-12 from the floor and 4-of-5 at the charity stripe in the win. 

The Bearcats also got double-digit performances out of three other players including Legiste who had 14 points and seven rebounds. Legiste has been one of the best players in the country through two games in the NCAA Tournament. Averaging 21.0 points and 11.0 rebounds in the postseason, he ranks in the top 25 among all NCAA Div. II players in both categories. 

On Tuesday, Legiste will likely be matched up against Champion, who is having a stellar postseason himself. 

In postseason play, including the PBC Tournament, Champion is averaging 19.6 points, 6.0 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 1.0 block and 1.0 steal while shooting 58.1 percent from the floor. 

UNG has also received stellar play at the guard position in the big dance. White is averaging 21.0 points, four assists and shooting 54.5 percent from downtown in NCAA Tournament games. 

Lander found its way to the Southeast Regional title game after an 85-76 upset win in the first round over three-seed Lincoln Memorial. 

The Bearcats knocked down 12-of-24 three-pointers in the game while out-rebounding the Railsplitters 37 to 22. They held LMU senior forward Martez Brown to just four points and five rebounds despite Brown averaging a double-double in the regular season.

In its second round matchup against seventh-seeded Emmanuel, Lander again was lethal from three-point range. The Bearcats went 12-of-25 from deep, using a boost of momentum to knock off the Lions 86-78 in overtime. They again dominated the glass, 40 to 28, in the win.

For the Nighthawks, a pair of efficient offensive performances have landed them in the championship game. In its opening matchup against eight-seed Wingate, UNG knocked down 52.5 percent of its shots while also going 8-for-16 from deep land thanks in part to a 4-for-6 individual performance beyond the arc from White.

In a second round matchup with four-seed Catawba, an even better shooting performance was paired with stifling defense as the Nighthawks pulled away with an 86-70 victory. UNG went 29-for-49 (59.2 percent) from the floor and 24-of-32 (75.0 percent) at the free throw line while also holding the Indians to just 41.9 percent shooting in the game.

White and sophomore guard Cayden Charles each had 22 points (a career-high for Charles) while two other Nighthawks reached double figures in Champion and junior forward Giancarlo Bastianoni. 

A near capacity crowd is expected to file into Lynn Cottrell Arena at the UNG Convocation Center for Tuesday's game. Near record number of fans have been in attendance for both UNG games in the tournament thus far in the program's first ever appearance as host of the regional rounds.

Tip-off between the Bearcats and Nighthawks is set for 7 p.m.