Box Score
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. – The sixth-ranked University of Alabama in Huntsville men's basketball team earned some payback for its lone defeat in league play, knocking off visiting No. 19 West Georgia by a 66-58 score on Saturday night in front of 2,107 fans at Kelly Court at Spragins Hall. The victory moves the Chargers to 17-3 (8-1 Gulf South Conference), and West Georgia drops to 18-5 (5-4 GSC).
All five starters for the Blue and White scored in double figures as the team erased a halftime deficit in picking up its eighth-straight victory.
The visitors were able to enjoy the lead at the break mostly due to a scoring drought of nearly seven minutes in the second half of the opening period for the Chargers, allowing the Wolves to end the half on a 12-3 run to build up a 29-26 advantage going into the halftime intermission.
Zane Campbell was impressive on the glass in the first 20 minutes, grabbing seven of the team's 17 rebounds in the period.
Building up its largest lead of the night, West Georgia extended its advantage to 40-35 at the 15:16 mark of the second stanza, but a pair of deep treys from
Josh Magette quickly tilted the game in UAH's favor and sparked a 19-2 run over the game's next eight minutes to put the Chargers on top 54-42 with 7:19 left.
During the stretch,
Conner Blasi recorded six of his bench-leading eight points including an electrifying play that saw him grab an offensive rebound and slam it back home to energize the large home crowd.
The Wolves would close the gap to nine on a pair of occasions down the stretch but could get no closer as
Jaime Smith hit two of his team-best four 3-pointers in the final six minutes to help keep UAH on top comfortably.
For the game, the Chargers were led by Magette who tallied 15 points and 12 assists for his ninth double-double of the season, and the Birmingham native was just two rebounds shy of his second triple-double as he grabbed eight boards.
Smith – who has now scored in double figures in every game this season – concluded the evening with 12, while Campbell added 11.
Xavier Baldwin and
Srdjan Boskovic both chipped in with 10.
Outshooting the Wolves, UAH registered a shooting percentage of 51.9 percent compared to 44.4 percent for UWG, and the Chargers also won the battle on the glass by a slim 31-29 margin.
After turning the ball over 24 times in the first meeting between the two teams this season and giving it away 10 times in the first 20 minutes on Saturday, the hosts committed just three miscues in the second half to total 13 on the night, and the team scored 13 points off of West Georgia's 15 turnovers.
The Chargers now will prepare to hit the road for a pair of games, getting back on the hardwood next Thursday at Valdosta State.
