FLORENCE, Ala. | The University of Alabama in Huntsville men's basketball team dropped its rivalry contest on Saturday, falling 119-103 to host North Alabama at Flowers Hall. The Chargers slip to 11-5 (8-3 Gulf South Conference), while UNA improves to 10-7 (7-4 GSC).
 
Greg Gardner scored 22 points to lead the Chargers, and the senior became the third player in program history to record 500 career assists as he dished out nine to move to a total of 506.
 
Joining him in double figures, Seab Webster scored 20, while Brandon Roberts added 18, Troy Saxton poured in 13, and Kip Owens tallied 10.
 
John Flether led the Lions with 32 points, and Dimario Jackson hit five 3-pointers en route to scoring 29.
 
The Chargers jumped out to an eight-point lead just under three minutes into the contest, but it was tied at 16-16 by the 14:25 mark of the opening half as UNA was on its way to holding a 58-54 advantage at the halftime break.
 
Then in the second half after UNA pushed the lead into double figures at 76-65 less than five minutes into the period, the visitors would not be able to narrow the gap back into single digits as UNA led by as much as 22 points.
 
UAH finished the night shooting 61.5 percent after hitting a blistering 74.1 percent of its attempts in the first half, and the hosts shot 52.9 percent overall and were 15-of-29 from beyond the arc.
 
North Alabama forced UAH to commit 16 turnovers and converted that into a 21-9 advantage in points off turnovers, and a 37-30 rebounding edge for the Lions resulted in the hosts owning a 14-7 advantage in second-chance points.
 
UAH will look to bounce back from the Saturday setback when it welcomes Valdosta State to Huntsville on Thursday with the tip scheduled for 7:30 p.m. at Kelly Court at Spragins Hall. The Chargers claimed an overtime decision in the earlier meeting with VSU, winning 102-96 at Valdosta.