HUNTSVILLE, Ala. - The University of West Alabama Men's Basketball team fell to the Alabama Huntsville Chargers, 79-52, in Spragins Hall on Saturday.
West Alabama (9-8, 5-6 GSC) shot 38.6 percent and 16.7 percent from three while No. 5 Alabama Huntsville (16-1, 11-0 GSC) shot 50 percent from the field and 38 percent from three, leading to the Tigers' 27 point loss.
Out of the gates, Travion McCray buried two midrange jumpers to get the West Alabama offense going before UWA's most productive big this season, Rasean Frederick, left the game at the 15:54 mark with a lower body injury. After Frederick left the game, Alabama Huntsville's high powered offense got into their rhythm as the Chargers went on an 11-4 run to take a 19-10 lead with 11:35 left in the period. In the midst of that run, UAH's Tommy Murr and Luke Burnett got going, combining for eight of those 11 points. Moments later, a floater from Thaddeus Williams and a three from Marcellious Lockett halted Alabama Huntsville's momentum for a moment and made it a six point game. After back-to-back buckets from Williams and Lockett, UWA's offense went cold, scoring just five points on 2-12 shooting for the last eight minutes of the half, propelling UAH to a 43-20 lead at the break.
West Alabama shot 32 percent from the floor and 20 percent from three in the first half, while Alabama Huntsville shot 47 percent from the floor and 35 percent from three.
The Tigers played better on the offensive side of the ball in the second half, shooting 45 percent from the field in the period. Williams and Jaylen Lemons carried most of the offensive production for UWA in the half while Elliot Tulip and Charles Fofanah gave head coach Nick Woodruff solid minutes off the bench. While West Alabama played better in the second half, they could never make any significant cuts into Alabama Huntsville's lead as the Chargers cruised to a 79-52 victory.
Williams was the only Tiger to finish in double figures, scoring a team-high 10 points.
West Alabama will be back in action on Thursday when they travel to Pensacola, Florida for a 7:30 p.m. matchup against West Florida.
