ROME, Ga. – Phil Taylor and Trevor McDade combined for 53 points to lead Shorter University to a 94-81 win over West Alabama in Gulf South Conference Men's Basketball action at the Winthrop-King Centre on Saturday.

The win snaps a three game losing skid for Shorter, who improves to 12-13 and 7-12 in the GSC. West Alabama falls to 11-14 and 7-12, dropping its fifth straight loss.

Taylor totaled 31 points, 18 in the second half, while McDade finished with 22; 14 in the second half. Taylor scored 18 of his points at the free-throw line, hitting 6-of-10 from the field. McDade was 8-of-15 from the field and 6-of-6 at the free-throw line.

"The biggest difference in tonight and the win over Shorter at our place was Phil Taylor had 31 points tonight, and we had held him to only 10 at home," said UWA head coach Allen Sharpe. "There were a lot of plays, especially down the stretch, where there was absolutely nothing our defense could do. But they kicked us tonight and Phil Taylor had a lot to do with it."

Shorter had two more 3-point field goals and a free-throw in the first half that proved enough to scratch out a 39-34 lead at halftime. The Hawks were 11-of-26 (42 percent) from the field with four 3-pointers, and 13-of-17 (76 percent) at the free-throw line. UWA went 10-of-33 (30 percent) with two 3-point field goals, and were 12-of-15 (80 percent) at the charity stripe.

Deontaye Ewing and Simeon Dennis combined for 21 of the Tigers first half points. Both hit 4-of-8 from the field. Taylor led Shorter with 13 points at the break, hitting 8-of-10 at the free-throw line.

West Alabama led 23-19 in first half rebounds, including nine offensive boards. Billy Ingram and Tyler Chaisson each had five.  

"We knew going into this game that it would boil down to how well we defended them," Sharpe said.

"They have some fire power and can really score the ball. Even though they give up 88 points a game, we have a hard time getting that many points. We just didn't do enough defensively, even at the half. Before the game started, we said that if they had 35 or 40 points at the half then we would be in trouble. They had 39, and it just didn't get any better in the second half."

The Hawks led for the entire second half, after trading the lead nine times in the first. They improved to 18-of-30 (60 percent) from the field and remained consistent at the free-throw line hitting 17-of-20 (85 percent). West Alabama also improved field goal shooting its shooting in the second, making 16-of-32 (50 percent).

Shorter leveled the rebounding effort in the second half, posting 21 more boards and holding UWA to 12. Chris Daniels racked up a double-double for the Hawks with 11 rebounds and 11 points. Ingram finished with eight boards.

Dennis led the Tigers, finishing with 23 points, hitting 8-of-12 from the field, including 4-of-7 from beyond the arc. Ewing totaled 17 points, with 5-of-14 field goal shooting and 7-of-8 at the free-throw line. Acie Vance compiled 16 points, all in the second half, hitting 4-of-5 three-point attempts in the final 20 minutes.

West Alabama men's hoops return home on Thursday, facing Valdosta State in the first of a three game final home stand. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m. in Pruitt Hall.