LIVINGSTON, Ala. – The University of West Alabama men's basketball team, led by a 30-piece by Jaylen Lemons, dropped the University of Alabama in Huntsville, erasing a seven-point deficit in the first half to defeat the Chargers 69-64, Saturday evening inside Pruitt Hall. 

In a battle of the top teams in the Gulf South Conference, West Alabama improves to 13-6 and 10-5, while Alabama Huntsville falls to 11-4 in the league and 13-6 overall. 

"We've had a rough couple of weeks; it's been tough. We've been practicing really hard. AUM was a tough loss for us, but we found out a lot about togetherness. Today was a big win for us to prove to ourselves that we're not broken. We have to keep fighting, being supportive and trying to win these games down the stretch," said head coach Nick Woodruff. 

Riding high off the momentum from the women's overtime victory earlier in the day, the men's squad went off in the first three minutes of the game with a 10-0 run.

The Chargers got on the board at the 17:30 mark with free throws by Tommy Murr, but it would take the visitors almost four minutes to score from the field. 

Unfortunately for West Alabama, once Alabama Huntsville shook off the rust, what was once a 10-point deficit became a one-point lead, 11-10, with a layup by Murr. 

UWA would restore order, ending the 11-0 run with back-to-back shots by Kuran Garner and Jaylen Lemons. 

The Tigers would maintain the lead for most of the period, as Thaddeus Williams swelled the UWA lead to four points, 21-17, with 6:26 remaining, but back-to-back triples by the Chargers started a 12-2 run for about a two-and-a-half-minute span. 

Now down 30-23, West Alabama did end the period on a 5-1 run to make it a 31-28 score in favor of the visitors at intermission. 

Both teams saw the bottom of the net in the first three minutes of the second half, but it was the Chargers that were still ahead by five points, 39-35. However, following a CJ Melton put-back and a fast break by Lemons evened the game at 39 with under 16 minutes remaining. 

Despite an Auston Leslie shot from downtown to give the Chargers the lead again 42-39, Lemons came up fresh again with a steal and quick triple on the other end to tie the game at 42. 

After an offensive foul on the other end, Lemons converted inside the arc to give the Tigers their first lead of the game, 44-42, with 14:30 left. 

The Chargers had the opportunity to reclaim the lead on a three-point play after Leslie layup. However, even at 44, that would stay that way as he missed the free throw. On the other end, Lemons found Williams for the 3-ball to lead, 47-44. 

That would spark a 10-1 run by the home team, as Lemons connected back-to-back 3-pointers. 

The Chargers made it interesting in the final six minutes, as they evened the game back at 58, but Lemons was clutch again for the Tigers, scoring on the other end to make it a 60-58 advantage. 

Daniel Saylor made it a 60-60 score with his jump shot, but the Tigers saw free throws by Marvin Price and Williams plus a jumper by Garner to make it a 66-60 lead with one minute remaining to seal the victory. 

After the Tigers converted just 11 shots in 36 attempts in the first half, the offense woke up in the second half with a 14-of-27, just under 52%. 

Jaylen Lemons posted an 8-of-14 performance from downtown and 11-of-19 overall for 30 points. He becomes the first UWA player to drop 30 in a game since Kortrijk Miles did it twice in the 2021-22 season. 

A balanced effort by the junior transfer, the Cincinnati, Ohio native scored 14 in the first half and 16 in the second. Playing in 19 of the final 20 minutes, Lemons scored 6-of-9 from the floor with four connections from beyond the arc. 

Thaddeus Williams added a double-double with 15 points and 10 boards. 

With a win by West Georgia over Union on Saturday, the Wolves hold a two-game lead over Alabama Huntsville, who are receiving votes in the latest D2CSC Media Poll. 

UWA will next take on Lee on Thursday night at 7:30 p.m. at home. The Flames, who defeated the Falcons of Montevallo on Saturday, are tied for third in the GSC with the Tigers.