HUNTSVILLE, Ala. – The University of West Alabama men's basketball team erased a ten-point halftime deficit but fell short to the University of Alabama in Huntsville, 66-56, on Saturday night in Gulf South Conference East Division action.

The Tigers trailed 34-24 at the halftime break, but clawed their way back even at 56-56 at the 3:13 mark. The Chargers scored the final ten points to move to 15-5 overall and 4-1 in the GSC East.  UWA drops to 10-11 on the season and 1-4 in the league. 

UWA trailed by as many as 14 points with just over five minutes left in the opening half.  The three-point shot spurred the Tiger offense as they connected on 11 treys in the contest.  UAH also drained 11 shots from beyond the arc.  UWA sophomore Alquan Mendenhall posted a game-high 21 points to lead the Red and White in scoring.  The Camden, Ala.-guard scored all of his points from the three-point line.  Senior Richard Sirju finished with 13 points.  UWA's leading scorer, Jason Swanson, carded just six points and six rebounds.  Swanson's first basket came at the 13:48 mark of the second half.

UAH was sparked by a 45 percent first half shooting effort while holding UWA to just nine made shots in the first 20 minutes.  Both squads hit 39 percent from the field in the final half along with UAH out-rebounding UWA 39-27.  UAH's Zane Campbell came off the bench to lead the Blue and White with 14 points.  Josh Yost added 10 points while nine of the ten Chargers registered points.

West Alabama returns to action on Wednesday, Feb. 3 as UWA hosts West Florida in GSC action. Tip-off is slated for 8:00 p.m. A video stream of the game will be available at www.uwaathletics.com along with live stats.