MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Junior point guard Steven Samuels scored a team-high 17 points in just 24 minutes of action as the University of West Alabama men's basketball team dropped a 69-54 game to Christian Brothers Thursday evening at CBU's Canale Arena.
 
With the loss, the Tigers move to 3-11 on the year and drop to 1-2 in the Gulf South Conference. Meanwhile, Christian Brothers moves to 12-2, 3-0 in the GSC.
 
UWA played the Buccaneers close throughout the contest, getting to as close as six points late in the second half. Part of that success was a switch to a zone defense that stifled the CBU offense over a five-minute period.
 
From that point, Pat Graham came off the bench for the Bucs and made four out of his next five three-point  baskets to put the final distance between his team and the Tigers.
 
In a game that featured four ties and eight lead changes, UWA jumped out to a 10-8 lead in the early going and held that slim advantage until CBU went on a 17-8 run to take a 25-18 advantage with 4:57 to go in the opening half.
 
After building a 33-27 advantage at halftime, CBU then stormed out to a 15-point lead with 9:42 to go. From there, UWA was able to cut the advantage to just six points before Graham came off the bench and gave the Bucs the final push in a 69-54 win.
 
Next up, West Alabama heads to Cleveland, Miss., to take on Delta State at 6 p.m. on Saturday. Fans can listen to live action on ESPN104.9 or follow live stats at www.uwaathletics.com.