LIVINGSTON, Ala. - Despite playing without Tiger leading-scorer and rebounder, the West Alabama men's basketball team pulled of a 59-52 victory against conference foe Christian Brothers Saturday afternoon. With the win, UWA moves to 14-3 on the season and 7-2 in the Gulf South Conference. The Tigers also remain undefeated on their home court inside Pruitt Hall Gymnasium.
In Miles's absence, Shardarrion Allen stepped up to lead West Alabama with a game-high of 13 points and 9 rebounds. The Bolton, Miss. native made 6 of 14 attempts from the field including one in three-point range.
Three other Tigers scored double figures. Te Smith had 11, and CJ Melton and Justin Allison had 10. Other contributors include Calvin Finch with 8 points and Robert Davis with 7.
As a team, UWA landed 21 of 51 shots (41.2 %) from the field with 6 of 11 (54.5%) from beyond the arc and added 11 of 13 (84.6%) at the line.
Christian Brothers (5-11, 2-8 GSC) was led by Christian Jones who tied Allen with 13 points. As a team, the Buccaneers went 20 of 50 (40.0%) from the floor with 7 of 18 (38.9%) in three-point range. CBU added 5 of 9 (55.6%) at the line.
The Tigers started the competition strong with Melton and Davis hitting back-to-back 3-pointers in under two minutes. Melton added two more points at the free-throw line before the Buccaneers would score their first points.
UWA did not stay in the lead for long. Christian Brothers went on a 9-0 scoring run to take its only lead of the game at 9-8 with 15:32 left in the first half.
Two minutes later, a 3-pointer by Te Smith put the Tigers back in the lead at 13-9 and UWA would remain in the lead for the remainder of the game.
The closest CBU would get was on a jumper with 2:53 left in game, but the Buccs were unable to get back on top.
West Alabama will be back in action on Wednesday, Jan. 19, traveling to Montevallo, Ala. The Tigers will tip-off against the University of Montevallo at 7 p.m.
To stay connected with the UWA Men's basketball team, follow @UWA_basketball on Twitter. General athletic news, along with game recaps and box scores, can be found at uwaathletics.com. Additional updates and information are available @UWAAthletics on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.
