Box Score

LIVINGSTON, Ala. – Jarell Byrd drained a 3-point shot in the final 17 seconds to secure a 72-68 West Alabama victory over Valdosta State in Gulf South Conference basketball action Thursday at Pruitt Hall.

UWA snapped a three game losing skid to improve to 11-8 overall and 8-5 in the GSC. Valdosta State falls to 12-6 and 6-6.

"We did enough to win tonight," UWA head coach Mark Downey said. "We didn't settle. We were 13-of-14 from two point range. If we can grind out possessions like that, there are not many teams that can stop us. Holding them to 43 percent from the field was pretty good. 38 percent in the first half is what really did it for us."

Byrd's final 3-pointer gave him 12 total points for the game; all scored in the second half. Sandy Underwood protected Byrd's five point lead with two final free-throw shots in the final seven seconds. Underwood came off of the bench to finish with 20 points, shooting 7-of-13 from the field.

Jared Woolfolk also tallied double-figures with 14 points, while Lleon Tillman led with 11 boards. The Tigers beat the Blazers in the paint 40-27 and out rebounded 36-26. 14 UWA points came at the free-throw line where the Tigers finished 14-of-16.

Kervens Calixte put the Tigers up 32-29 at halftime with a 3-pointer as time expired before the break. The Tigers battled through eight lead changes in the second half to take the final victory.

Three Blazers totaled double-figure scoring marks, led by Jeremy McKay with 22 points. David Murray finished with 14, while Jalen Crawford posted 13.  

Valdosta State entered the game averaging 80.1 points per game. The Blazers were held to 11-of-29 from the field in the first half, 27-of-62 overall.

West Alabama remains at home to take on West Florida on Saturday. Tipoff is set for 4 p.m. in Pruitt Hall. The game can be heard on ESPN 104.9 and ESPN1049.com.

"If we can get everybody on board, I like where we can go, but we have to protect our house," said Downey. "We need to continue to take care of our business here at home and then go steal a couple on the road. If we can do that, we will finish really strong. We just have to take it a game at a time."