VALDOSTA, Ga. | The No. 24 University of Alabama in Huntsville men's basketball team picked up a big road win on Monday night, using a second-half push to beat Valdosta State 82-72. The Chargers improve to 8-3 (4-1 Gulf South Conference), while VSU falls to 8-3 (3-2 GSC).
 
Turning Point
-The Chargers outscored Valdosta State 50-31 in the second half including a 39-17 run in the middle of the period that turned an 11-point deficit into an 11-point advantage by the 5:12 mark. Justin Ward and Brandon Roberts led UAH during the stretch with 10 points and nine points, respectively, while Chayse Elliott added eight during the strong spurt.
 
Inside the Box Score
-Five different players scored in double figures for the Chargers led by Troy Saxton who was an impressive 8-of-9 from the field in the game – his first miss came late in the second half – on his way to scoring 20 points.
-Roberts finished the night with 17 points, while Seab Webster and Elliott both added 11. Ward finished the night with the 10 including two key 3-pointers.
-Kip Owens led the Chargers on the glass as he collected 10 rebounds, and he also blocked six shots and dished out a team-best four assists.
-After shooting 58.1 percent in the second half, the Chargers finished the game with a shooting mark of 54.4 percent, and the team held VSU to a 29.7 shooting percentage in the second half for an overall performance of 36.6 percent.
-Valdosta State outrebounded the Chargers by a 44-38 clip, and the Blazers used 20 offensive rebounds to outscore UAH 20-4 in second chance points.
-Jeremiah Hill led the Blazers with 15 points.
 
Inside the Flow
-The teams exchanged the lead seven different times in the opening six minutes of the contest, and with UAH having claimed a 12-11 lead at the 14:12 mark of the opening half, VSU went on a 9-0 run over the next four minutes to go ahead 20-12 by the midway point.
-The advantage for the Blazers would eventually expand into double figures and to as much as 14 at 41-27 with 2:01 remaining until the half, but the Chargers scored the final five points of the stanza to close the gap back to nine at 41-32 at the half.
-The lead would grow back up to 11 for Valdosta State early in the second half, but the Chargers would go on a 9-0 run over a span of just more than three minutes to cut the deficit to two at 45-43 with 15:19 remaining in the game.
-Then in the middle of a 7-0 string of points that was part of a larger 19-4 run, Webster hit a 3-pointer with 9:31 on the clock that put the Chargers up what ended up being for good.
-The Blazers did narrow the gap to five with just under two minutes remaining, but UAH scored seven of the nine last points in the game to wrap up the victory.
 
Noteworthy
-Saxton matches his career-high with the 20-point showing, replicating a scoring total that he turned in against Saint Leo on the opening day of the season this year.
-The 10 rebounds for Owens marks a season-high for the junior, and the six blocks is a career high.
-The 14-point difference marks the largest deficit that the Chargers have overcome in a victory this season.
 
Next Time Out
-The Chargers will return home for their first game at Kelly Court at Spragins Hall of the new year when the team hosts Union. Tip-off on Saturday is slated for 4 p.m.
-After that contest, UAH will host Christian Brothers with that game now slated for a 3 p.m. start on Monday, Jan. 9.