FLORENCE, Ala. – A valiant late second half charge comes up short as the University of West Alabama men's basketball team dropped a 78-77 decision to North Alabama in a key Gulf South Conference contest at Flowers Hall.
The loss drops the Tigers to 12-12 overall and 2-5 inside division play. UNA moved ahead of UWA in the GSC East standings with the win at 3-5 and 11-12 overall.
The Tigers and Lions dueled to a 32-32 tie at the end of the first 20 minutes before UNA extended a one-point, 46-45 lead at the 14:26 mark to a double-digit 67-57 advantage with 6:44 left in the game. The Purple and Gold took its largest lead of the game at 70-57 just under the five-minute mark of the final half. The Tigers trimmed the deficit down to within one point on multiple occasions down the stretch after putting together a 20-8 scoring run over the final four minutes. UWA's Chris Davis had a three-point attempt with two ticks left on the clock to send the game into extra time but the shot rimmed out.
Reigning GSC East Division Player of the Week Jason Swanson paced the Tiger offense with his third-straight double-double and 13th of the season with a team-best 20 points and 17 rebounds. Richard Sirju and Alquan Mendenhall combined to hit eight three-pointers as both finished with 15 points. Davis added six points and five assists in the setback. As a team, UWA shot 48 percent from the field while UNA connected on 42 percent.
UNA's Jared Strode, the league's top scorer, turned in 22 points in his 39 minutes of action. Rory Milled added 20 points. The Lions avenged a 78-76 loss to UWA in Livingston earlier this season.
The Tigers return to the hardwood on Thursday, Feb. 18 at home against nationally-ranked Valdosta State. Tip off is set for 8 p.m. on the UWA campus.
