PHOTOS
HUNTSVILLE | The University of Alabama in Huntsville men's basketball team pulled off another thriller at Kelly Court at Spragins Hall, knocking off visiting Valdosta State 80-75 on Thursday night. UAH improves to 12-5 (9-3 Gulf South Conference), while VSU falls to 11-6 (7-5 GSC).
 
After Thursday's results around the league, UAH and West Georgia remained tied for first, while Delta State fell into a tie for third-place at 8-4 with North Alabama.
 
The Chargers found themselves in a seven-point hole at 73-66 with 2:57 remaining, but Brandon Roberts scored five of his team-high 23 points as part of a 9-0 run that was capped by a Michael Gilmore layup that put UAH up 75-73 with 1:01 left for the team's first lead since the 11:28 mark of the half.

MBB HIGHLIGHTS: Here's the best 30 seconds from tonight's victory! #UnitedWeCharge pic.twitter.com/NMjITWavnT

— UAH Chargers (@UAHChargers) January 22, 2016

After Blake Justice – who scored 26 to lead VSU – leveled the affair at 75-75 before senior Greg Gardner made his first made field goal of the game count in a major way, burying a 3-pointer with 14 seconds remaining to push the hosts ahead, and Roberts then made a pair of free throws after being fouled upon grabbing a defensive rebound on the other end of the floor.
 
Roberts was joined in double figures on the night by Seab Webster who scored 16 and added a team-best eight rebounds, while Preston Herring scored 11 and Justin Ward added 10.
 
UAH trailed by as many as six in the first half before narrowing the gap to just two at 34-32 at the halftime break, and the team then came out of the gates on fire in the second stanza as after the Blazers went up by five early, the Chargers ripped off a 19-0 run to go up 14 at 51-37 with 15:01 left in the game.
 
The Blazers, however, had an answer and a 19-0 run of their own as part of a bigger 30-8 stretch over just more than eight minutes to take their largest lead of the night at 67-59 before UAH's late comeback sealed the game for the home team.
 
For the contest, VSU outshot the Chargers by a 48.2 percent to 44.8 percent margin, and the Blazers were terrific from 3-point land, connecting on 16 of their 32 attempts. The guests also held a slim lead on the glass, outrebounding UAH 34-33.
 
UAH forced Valdosta to turn the ball over 16 times and then capitalized on the miscues, with the team's 15-2 difference in points off turnovers a major difference in the contest.
 
The Chargers will return to action on Saturday in front of a national television audience as UAH welcomes West Florida to Huntsville for a 3 p.m. game. The matchup will be aired around the country on the American Sports Network.