LIVINGSTON, Ala. – Gavin Robinson set career highs in points (34) and field goals (13) as West Alabama fell short of upsetting No. 22 Alabama Huntsville, falling to the Chargers 76-72 in Gulf South Conference men's basketball action at Pruitt Hall on Thursday.
 
With the win, the Chargers improve to 18-5 overall, moving to 14-3 in the GSC to share the top spot with Valdosta State. The Tigers fall to 9-13 on the season, dropping to 4-12 in the league.
 
"We have played a lot of close, low-scoring games this year," UWA head coach Allen Sharpe said. "When you play that close to the chest, possessions are huge, and every shot our opponents make is back-breaker."
 
"We had a great opportunity to beat a really good team tonight, but 45 second-half points is just too much to give up."
 
After Alabama Huntsville took an 8-2 lead, West Alabama's GSC leading defense made its presence felt, forcing back to back turnovers before pulling ahead 9-8 on a Johnny Stallworth three ball.
 
The Tigers forced 10 first half takeaways, leading to 10 points in transition as a point-for-point struggle saw UAH take a 32-30 advantage into the intermission. Robinson, with help from Jahmal Lane and Jake Jobling, scored West Alabama's final nine points of the opening half.
 
"Getting the chance to shoot doesn't necessarily equal a scoring opportunity," Sharpe said. "We need to give our shooters a chance from their spot, and I thought we did a good job of setting Gavin up for those shots."
 
"If Gavin doesn't play the way he did tonight, we didn't have a chance to pull this one out."
 
While neither side held a clear advantage from the floor, The Chargers' conference-topping three-point field goal offense dominated the Tigers from long-range, converting 7-of-15 (71%) while West Alabama hit 2-of-11 (18%).
 
UAH also out-performed UWA at the free throw line, shooting 71 percent through the first 20 minutes as the Tigers hit just 50 percent.
 
The Alabama Huntsville aerial assault continued to keep the Chargers in control until a 9-1 Tiger scoring run, capped off by a Toni Kumanovic layup, gave the lead back to West Alabama by a 60-59 margin with 6:28 to play.
 
With 4:53 to go, Sean Cranney cut through the paint and into the heart of the Charger defense to lay in a basket that propelled the Tigers to their final lead of the night.
 
A back-and-fourth fight for control of the game escalated over the closing minutes, seeing UAH take a 73-69 lead with 45.9 ticks left on the clock.
 
Free throws ultimately cost the Tigers in the end, leaving five points off the board in the second half after hitting 11-of-16 (69%) in the four-point, 76-22 defeat.
 
Robinson picked up his sixth double-double of the 2016-17 campaign, leading all scorers and rebounders with 34 points and 10 boards. Stallworth followed with 16 points, while Lane rounded out the Tigers' double-digit scorers with 14. Lane pitched in five assists, and Domonique Alexander posted seven boards and three blocks.
 
The Chargers were led by Seab Webster and Troy Saxton as each fell short of double-doubles. Webster led UAH with 23 points and eight rebounds, while Saxton recorded 20 points and seven assists.
 
The Tigers will continue at home, facing off against North Alabama in GSC play on Saturday. Tip off at Pruitt Hall is slated for 4 p.m.