CLINTON, Miss. | The University of Alabama in Huntsville men's basketball team kept pace at the top of the Gulf South Conference standings on Saturday, picking up a 73-66 road win at Mississippi College behind a 30-point showing from Justin Ward. The Chargers improve to 18-7 (13-6 GSC), while MC falls to 11-10 (9-10 GSC).
 
West Georgia fell on Saturday while West Alabama, leaving the Chargers and UWA tied for first with two weeks to go in conference action. Union and West Georgia are tied for third at 12-7 in conference action, while Shorter, Delta State and Christian Brothers all lurk closely behind at 11-8 in a tie for fifth.
 
With Preston Herring recording only four minutes and Seab Webster playing just 20, the Chargers needed someone to step up on Saturday, and Ward did just that in a big way. The redshirt freshman came off the bench had 19 points by the half on his way to a season-high 30, and he finished the game shooting 10-for-14 from the floor, hitting four 3-pointers while going 6-for-6 at the charity stripe.
 
The 30 points mark the second-highest total by a Charger this season.
 
Taylor Chapman also scored in double figures as a reserve, tallying 13 to help UAH's bench outscore MC's 43-14, and that pair was joined in double figures by Greg Gardner and Troy Saxton who both had 11 on the day.
 
Gardner also finished the game with a team-best six assists, while Saxton dished out four helpers.
 
The Chargers trailed just before the half as they were down 33-32 with 2:11 remaining in the opening 20 minutes, but an 8-1 run that started with a Gardner triple and was punctuated by a Ward basket near the buzzer provided UAH with a 40-34 lead at the half.
 
UAH's advantage was then whittled down to just 53-52 near the midway point of the second, but again the Chargers had a big answer, ripping off a 13-2 run over 4:23 to hold a 66-54 lead at the 7:22 mark. That cushion allowed the Chargers to weather a late push by the Choctaws as the hosts pulled within four with one minute left before Ward nailed three free throws late to seal the victory.
 
For the contest, UAH shot 43.9 percent while MC hit 43.4 percent of its attempts, and the Chargers were especially strong from 3-point land, hitting 14 treys for the second-best performance from beyond the arc of the season.
 
The Chargers also won the rebounding battle 37-31 as Gardner grabbed a team-best eight.
 
UAH now returns home for two of the last three games of the season starting with a Thursday night visit from Christian Brothers. The tip is slated for 7:30 p.m. at Kelly Court at Spragins Hall.