LIVINGSTON, Ala. – West Alabama men's basketball 19 game win streak ended in a 72-70 loss to Alabama Huntsville in Gulf South Conference action at Pruitt Hall on Saturday. The Tigers cut the Chargers lead from 15 points to one in the final 10 minutes, but Kenric McCants potential game winning 3-point shot fell short as time expired.

Alabama Huntsville improves to 15-6 overall and 10-5 in the GSC ranked third. It was West Alabama drops to 14-9 and is tied with Union University for fourth place in the league at 9-6. It was the Tigers first home loss since Nov. 27, 2013 and first home conference loss since March 2, 2013.  

"We just didn't put a complete game together," said UWA head coach Allen Sharpe.

"UAH is a good team. They made some big shots down the stretch to keep us away from them. Our goal every game is to hold a team to no more than 68 points. Our goal for this game was to not allow more than six 3-pointers. They ended up with seven, which is not far off, but we just had a poor first half offensively. We felt good about holding them to 30 points in the first half, but we have to get more than 25 if we expect to win."

West Alabama's offense struggled in the second half, shooting 8-of-24 on its way to 25 points. UAH hit 12-of-28 from the field and 4-of-10 from the 3-point line to lead with 30 points. The Tigers improved to 14-of-29 from the field to lead in second half points 45-42.

Kenric McCants matched his season best scoring with 21 points, scoring 13 in the second half. He finished 7-for-13 from the field and 6-of-9 from the free throw line.

"Kenric is a competitor," Sharpe said. "He's constantly battling and trying to win the game. I wish all of our guys had the same heart and desire that Kenric had tonight."
Justin Wright also improved in the second half, posting 12 of his 15 total points. He led the Tigers at the free throw line hitting all eight of his attempts. UWA combined for 23-of-30 at the line; 16-of-18 in the second half.

"Justin Wright, Jarell Byrd and Charles Eaton didn't have much in the first half, and we told them at halftime that if you are averaging 12 or 13 points per game, then you have to do that," said Sharpe. "At this time of the year, you are what your stats are."

The Tigers out-rebounded UAH 41-33, led by Wright with nine. On defense, West Alabama blocked 11 shots with four belonging to Dakari Mayo.

The Chargers had four players in double-figures. Seab Webster led with 15, followed by Preston Herring with 13 and Troy Sexton with 12. Taylor Chapman came off the bench to tally 10 of Alabama Huntsville's 21 bench points. The Tiger bench was held to just 19 points, led by Khalil Carter and Lleon Tillman, each with seven.

West Alabama will remains at home to face Christian Brothers University on Thursday. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m. at Pruitt Hall.