Men’s Hoops Preview – UAH, Lee

Thursday, Jan. 16 vs. #21/NR Alabama Huntsville, 7:30 p.m. CST
Saturday, Jan. 18 vs. RV/#23 Lee, 4 p.m. CST

WHERE
Pruitt Hall Gymnasium in Livingston, Alabama for both contests.

ADMISSION
Tickets are $5 for Adults, $3 for Students. UWA Students with a valid ID are admitted free.

LINKS VS UAH
Audio (ESPN 104.9) | Video | Stats

LINKS VS LEE
Audio (ESPN 104.9) | Video | Stats

WEST ALABAMA
The Tigers are 12-3 overall and 5-2 in the Gulf South Conference coming off a pair of victories on the road last week with a dominant 69-51 win last Thursday over Christian Brothers and a clutch 73-68 win last Saturday over Union. UWA is 9-2 in Pruitt Hall Gym this season.

ALABAMA HUNTSVILLE
The Chargers are 13-3 on the season and 5-3 in the GSC. UAH defeated Shorter 90-77 on the road last Thursday but lost last Saturday on the road once more to Lee, 65-60. The preseason favorite to win the league, the Chargers are currently ranked #21 in the national coaches' poll. The team is 3-3 on the road.

LEE
Somewhat of a surprise contender this season, the Flames are 12-3 on the season and 7-1 in the GSC. Lee grabbed an 80-73 win on the road last Thursday over West Georgia and also beat Alabama Huntsville in Cleveland, Tennessee last Saturday, 65-60. The team received votes in the latest coaches' poll and was ranked #21 in the D2SIDA poll. Lee is 4-2 on the road.

COACHES
Allen Sharpe is 98-66 (.593) in his sixth season at West Alabama, 374-163 (.695) in 18 seasons as a head coach. John Shulman is 13-3 (.813) in his first season at UAH, 158-149 (.515) in 10th season as a collegiate head coach. Bubba Smith is 54-46 (.540) in his 4th season at Lee, 246-201 (.550) as a collegiate head coach.

UAH STAT LEADERS
Scoring: Sam Orf, 12.5
               Triston Chambers, 11.9
               Max Shulman, 11.9
               JJ Kaplan, 11.1
Rebounding: JJ Kaplan, 9.4
Assists: Kerney Lane, 3.1
FG% (Min. 5 FGA pg): JJ Kaplan, .489 (66-135)
3FG% (Min 2 FGA pg): Max Shulman, .450 (50-111)
FT% (Min. 2 FTA pg): JJ Kaplan, .645 (40-62)

LEE STAT LEADERS
Scoring: Ryan Montgomery, 21.6
               Quay Kennedy, 13.9
Rebounding: Ryan Montgomery, 5.8
Assists: Katrell Evans, 4.4
              Parker Suedekum, 4.1
FG% (Min. 5 FGA pg): Ryan Montgomery, .552 (85-154)
3FG% (Min 2 FGA pg): Quay Kennedy, .403 (31-77)
FT% (Min. 5 FTA pg): Ryan Montgomery, .829 (68-82)

UWA STAT LEADERS
Scoring: LaJuan Hardy, 15.5
              Darron Johnson, 15.3
Ricky Dunnaway, 12.5
Rebounding: Mike Davis, 7.1
Assists: LaJuan Hardy, 5.8
FG% (Min. 5 FGA pg): Ricky Dunnaway, .521 (76-146)
3FG% (Min 2 FGA pg): Darron Johnson, .447 (55-123)
FT% (Min. 5 FTA pg): LaJuan Hardy, .755 (40-53)

TIGER GSC HONORS THIS SEASON
LaJuan Hardy, GSC Co-Player of the Week, Dec. 3

BEVO FRANCIS WATCHLIST
UWA's leading scorer and assist maker LaJuan Hardy was named to the 2020 Bevo Francis Award Top 100 watchlist which consists of some of the top players from NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III, NAIA Division I, NAIA Division II, USCAA and NCCAA. Hardy is one of two players from the GSC to receive the honor.

CLOSING IN ON HISTORY
If the buzzer sounds on a tough weekend of basketball and the Tigers have won both, Head coach Allen Sharpe will have won his 100th game as the leader of the UWA squad. Already in second place all-time in West Alabama program history, Sharpe has a way to go to catch Rick Reedy who has 276 wins as a Tiger.

SPEAKING OF NUMBERS…
West Alabama has won four of the last five against Alabama Huntsville with four straight coming the last two regular seasons, but the Chargers own the most recent win and eliminated the Tigers in the semifinals of the GSC Men's Basketball Championship Tournament.

NOT MUCH DISTANCE
UWA owns a 9-3 record over Lee and have won four straight, but the games have been close and Lee is bringing its best team in recent years to Livingston, Alabama Saturday. With a nine-point win for the Tigers on Feb. 9, 2019 as an outlier, four of the last five matchups have been decided by an average margin of 3.75 points.

THE OPPONENTS
Alabama Huntsville brings the seventh ranked offense (77.3 ppg) in the league and the second ranked defense which allows 63.6 points per contest. Lee boasts the second most potent offense in the GSC, scoring 77.8 points per game and the eighth best defense (70.9 ppg).

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Players Mentioned

#23 Ricky Dunnaway: F; 6' 8"; Senior

#1 LaJuan Hardy: G; 5' 11"; Senior

#11 Darron Johnson: G; 6' 2"; Senior

#0 Mike Davis: F; 6' 7"; Senior

Players Mentioned

#23 Ricky Dunnaway
: 6' 8"; Senior
: F

#1 LaJuan Hardy
: 5' 11"; Senior
: G

#11 Darron Johnson
: 6' 2"; Senior
: G

#0 Mike Davis
: 6' 7"; Senior
: F