LIVINGSTON, Ala. — The University of West Alabama Men's Basketball team extended their win streak to six on Saturday with a 78-70 win over Trevecca Nazarene in Pruitt Hall. 

 A strong first half performance and an overall stellar defensive outing for West Alabama (8-1, 4-0 GSC) carried them to their win over Trevecca Nazarene (6-3, 2-2 GSC) as the Tigers outscored the Trojans by 18 in the first 20 minutes of the game, holding them to 43 percent shooting and forcing 17 turnovers on the night. 

"I'm really happy that we were able to pull that one out," said head coach Nick Woodruff. "It was not pretty or perfectly executed down the stretch, but we've got to learn from this game and finish games better."

West Alabama got out of the gates fast as buckets from Elliot Tulip and Christian Thompson led to an 8-0 start for the Tigers just two and half minutes into the game which forced a TNU timeout. Out of the timeout, Trevecca Nazarene responded by scoring 11 of the game's next 14 points to even the score at 11. Over the next couple of minutes, the two teams traded baskets until a three from Travion McCray sparked a 12-1 UWA run, giving the Tigers a 37-23 lead with 4:15 left in the half. For the remainder of the half, West Alabama maintained control and got their lead up to 18 as they took a 46-28 lead into halftime. 

The Tigers shot a blistering 58 percent from the field in the first half, while holding TNU to 40 percent and 33 percent from three. BJ Brown Jr. was everywhere on the defensive side of the ball as he collected five steals in the half.

Trevecca Nazarene played much better basketball on both ends of the floor in the second half to get themselves back in the ball game.  West Alabama's lead held firm four minutes into the half until an 11-0 run from the Trojans cut the Tigers' lead to seven. six consecutive points from Rasean Frederick halted TNU's momentum for a moment and put UWA back up by 13. At this point in the game, Trevecca Nazarene found their offensive flow but consistent buckets from Frederick kept West Alabama's lead at a healthy margin. With 4:41 left to play, the Tigers led by 13 before a 17-6 Trevecca Nazarene run made it a two-point game with 48 seconds remaining. UWA had the ball and worked the clock down to 19 seconds when TNU's Spencer White fouled Brown Jr. on a three-point attempt. Brown Jr. buried all three free throws to put the game away as the Tigers went on to win 78-70.

Frederick led the team with 22 points and collected 10 rebounds. Brown Jr. added 19 points, recorded 10 assists, and made seven steals. Tulip scored 14 points and contributed three assists. Thompson finished with 10 points and two blocks.