LIVINGSTON, Ala. - The University of West Alabama men's basketball team was defeated by Christian Brothers University 68-61, inside Pruitt Hall on Thursday night.
UWA honored their six seniors in CJ Melton, Terry Durham, Tyler Talley, Marvin Price, Maurice Dickson, and Kuran Garner between the men's and women's contests.
The Tigers opened the contest cold, scoring their first field goal almost five minutes into the game with a triple from Caleb McGill at the 15:22 mark of the first stanza, making it a 6-3 ballgame.
CJ Melton and Kuran Garner joined in on the 3-point burst, hitting back-to-back threes to cut the deficit to one, 10-9, with 13:21 left.
After exchanging buckets for almost five minutes, a Garner fast break layup pulled the home team ahead, 17-16, with 8:24 remaining.
Christian Jones and Anias Futrell exploded inside the final two minutes of the period, with Jones hitting a three at the buzzer to give CBU a 37-29 halftime lead.
Out of the break, Jones scored the first bucket of the half to give the visitors the double-digit advantage for the first time in the game less than 90 seconds in.
Thaddeus Williams pulled UWA back to within six with a triple with just over 15 to go, but the Bucs remained in control, answering the Tigers' blows with a pair of free throws from Madison Monroe, pulling the CBU lead back up to eight, 45-37.
Despite the improvement in shooting numbers from West Alabama in the second half, jumping from 28% in the first 20 minutes to over 41% in the second, Christian Brothers answered every blow with one of their own, never allowing the home team to get within more than six for the remainder of the contest.
"We're going to have a hard time winning games like this when we shoot poorly early on. We saw improvements in the second half and played better defense," said head coach Nick Woodruff.
Futrell and Jones were the difference makers for CBU, with Jones dropping 21 points and adding eight rebounds and six assists. Futrell, the Bucs' leading scorer, added 18 points of his own on 8-for-14 shooting.
Christian Brothers collected 47 rebounds compared to West Alabama's 35 on the night, setting the tone inside the paint early and often.
Kuran Garner led the home team with 14 points on 7-for-14 shooting.
The Tigers fall to 16-9 overall and 13-8 in Gulf South Conference play. Christian Brothers jumps to 16-8 and 14-7.
UWA will play their final home game of the regular season against Union on Saturday. Tipoff is set for 4 p.m.
