LIVINGSTON, Ala. – West Alabama over came a 13-point, second-half deficit only to fall with .5 ticks on the clock as North Alabama escaped Pruitt Hall with a 64-62 Gulf South Conference men's basketball victory on Saturday.
With the win, the Lions snap a two game skid, improving to to 13-11 overall and 8-10 in the league. The Tigers fall to 9-14 on the season, dropping to 4-13 in the GSC.
"We blew it," UWA head coach
Allen Sharpe said. "We gave up 36 points in the first half, and that is just too big of a hole for our offense to climb out of."
"This is a team of competitors, and not only are they not used to losing, it really eats at them," Sharpe said. "We have a few more games left on the schedule, and we fully intend to make the most of them."
Trailing 15-7, West Alabama put together an 8-0 scoring run to tie the game up at the 9:06 mark. North Alabama answered with a 13-4 run over the next three minutes, taking a 28-19 lead and forcing a Tiger timeout.
The Lions kept the Tigers at arm's length for the remainder of the opening 20 minutes, heading into the locker room with a 36-26 advantage.
Both sides went 3-of-7 from beyond the arc in the first half. UWA out-paced UNA from the floor, while the Lions held a clear advantage from the line. However, turnovers cost West Alabama, giving up nine for 11 UNA points.
Three UWA turnovers in the opening minutes of the second half allowed the Lions to reach their largest lead of the night, a 13-point, 42-29 lead.
The Tigers slowly clawed into the Lions' lead, shattering a GSC-leading, block-per-game average of 4.68 that lead to an 11-4 swing in the Tigers' favor.
Jahmal Lane capped of the run with a hard fought layup, bringing West Alabama within six points as he left the floor bloodied up.
West Alabama continued to close in on their rival from the North, cutting the margin down to 62-60 on another Lane layup with 14 seconds to go.
Sean Cranney stole Austin Tim's inbound pass, and
Gavin Robinson drew a foul to go to the line as the scoreboard flashed 0:05. Robinson converted both attempts to tie the ball game with just over five ticks on the clock.
"Dimario Jackson is a great player," Sharpe said. "I think he beat us single-handedly down the stretch."
However, a Tiger foul with half a second remaining sent Dimario Jackson to the line, sinking both free throws to secure the 64-62 GSC win.
Timms led the Lions on both sides of the ball with 25 points and 12 rebounds. Jackson finished with 14 points, netting seven in the final 2:11 and grabbing a steal to clinch the victory. DeAndre McKinnie rounded out UNA's double-digit scorers with 11 points.
Robinson led all scorers with 26 points, while collecting five rebounds on the night. Lane pitched in 15 points, followed by
Johnny Stallworth with 10.
Domonique Alexander led the Tigers on the other end of the court, grabbing five defensive boards and three blocks while Lane and Robinson each contributed two blocks.
The Tigers will load up the bus for a three-game GSC road trip, starting with West Georgia on Monday. Tip off at The Coliseum is set for 7:30 p.m.
