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Mike Davis
Joe Chance
73
Winner West Ala. WA 12-3,5-2 Gulf South
68
Union (TN) Union 10-6,4-4 Gulf South
Winner
West Ala. WA
12-3,5-2 Gulf South
73
Final
68
Union (TN) Union
10-6,4-4 Gulf South
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
West Ala. WA 27 46 73
Union (TN) Union 19 49 68

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

UWA Turns Back Bulldogs for 73-68 Victory

JACKSON, Tenn. – Once down 21 points, it seemed the Union University Bulldogs had seized moment and were on the verge of a dramatic comeback in Fred DeLay Gymnasium. However, clutch plays down the stretch were enough for the University of West Alabama men's basketball team to leave with a 73-68 win Saturday evening in Gulf South Conference action.
 
UWA improved to 12-3 overall and 5-2 in the GSC. The loss dropped Union to 10-6 on the season and 4-4 in league competition.
 
"An unbelievable effort and you could argue we won that game in the first half with the way we defended," said Associate head coach Nick Woodruff. "Holding that team to 19 points in a half is a phenomenal effort. We gave up more than we wanted in the second half, but we did just enough to come away with the win."
 
Once the Tigers built the 21-point lead, it was if a flip switched for the Bulldogs and the team closed the gap all the way to two points with 17 seconds left. A made free throw from Justin Allison pushed the lead to 71-68.
 
"That's a good basketball team," said Woodruff. "We knew coming we had a challenge on our hands. They hit 21 threes in a game. Our goal was to hold them to seven three-pointers, and they got eight."
 
Union had more chance with possession with just over eight seconds, but Mike Davis read the inbound play perfectly to grab a steal. After he was quickly fouled, Davis knocked down two clutch free throws to seal the win for UWA. 
 
Four West Alabama players reached double figures as Darron Johnson led all scorers with 25 points and added two rebounds, two assists and a steal. LaJuan Hardy scored 14 and just missed out on a double-double with nine rebounds along with three assists and an early tone setting block. 
 
Deandre Harper put up 11 points and five rebounds while Davis got the double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds along with two blocks and the game clinching steal.
 
UWA shot well in the second half at 52 percent, but for the game the Tigers were 39.7 percent (23-of-58) from the floor, 48 percent (12-of-25) from three and 88.2 percent (15-of-17) from the line.
 
Despite the strong comeback effort in the second half, the Tiger defense held Union to 37.9 percent (22-of-58) from the floor, 33 percent (8-of-24) from outside with six of those threes coming in the second half and Union shot 69.6 (16-of-23) from the free throw line.
 
Tyree Boykin led the Bulldogs with 17 points, Samory Gueye went for 11 points and both Terrandus Smith and Tylandrius Parks scored 10 points.
 
West Alabama is back in action Pruitt Hall Gymnasium Thursday night against Alabama Huntsville. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m. with the game simulcast on ESPN 104.9 and on Tiger TV-UWA Athletics YouTube page.
 
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