UAH Athletics

TAMPA, Fla. | Chayse Elliott's layup with two seconds remaining in the contest provided The University of Alabama in Huntsville men's basketball team with an 82-80 victory over Saint Leo in the regular season opener for UAH in the GSC/SSC Challenge at Tampa. UAH starts the year at 1-0, while SLU drops to 1-3.
 
Turning Point
-After DeAndre King tied the game with a 3-pointer to make it 80-80, Elliott scored on the next possession with just seconds remaining to put the Chargers ahead, and Justin Ward picked off the inbounds pass to give the Lions no chance to answer.
 
Inside the Box Score
-Ward led a group of four Chargers who scored in double figures in the victory, connecting on three 3-pointers on his way to scoring 19, and the senior also grabbed six rebounds.
-True freshman Sam Orf logged 24 minutes in his official collegiate debut and went 5-for-9 including a pair of treys to score 13, while both Elliott and Kip Owens rounded out the double-digit contingent with 12 points.
-Owens paced the team with seven rebounds, while Malik Cook-Stroupe dished out a team-high six assists.
-King led all scorers in the contest as he scored 21 for the Lions.
-On the day, UAH connected on 46.9 percent of its shot attempts while Saint Leo hit 42.9 percent of its shots, and both teams were strong from long-range as the Chargers made 14 3-pointers with the Lions knocking down 12.
-UAH held a slim 38-37 edge on the glass.
 
Inside the Flow
-UAH opened up an early 6-2 lead in the game, but a 13-2 run over 2:35 allowed Saint Leo to go up 15-8 at the 15:17 mark of the first half.
-The Chargers would whittle the gap down, however, with an 13-6 run that was punctuated by a JJ Kaplan 3-pointer with 3:37 remaining in the half put UAH ahead 36-32 to match their largest lead of the half, but the Lions closed the period on a 7-3 spurt including a Kyran McClure shot at the buzzer that pushed SLU ahead 41-39 at the break.
-Though Saint Leo would grow its advantage to nine at 52-43 with just over four minutes gone in the second half, the Chargers would rip off a 10-0 run capped off by an Elliott 3-ball that put UAH back in front 53-52 at the 13:36 mark.
-The Chargers would have another big run – this time a 12-2 spurt over just under four minutes – that put the team ahead 78-66 with 4:44 remaining in the contest, but the Lions then scored 14 of the next 16 points to tie the game and set up Elliott's late heroics.
 
Noteworthy
-Ward's 19-point showing is his best performance since scoring 25 against North Alabama on Jan. 30 of last season.
-UAH knocked down 10 or more 3-pointers last season and went 18-5 in those games, and the Chargers have now logged double figures in triples in six straight games dating back to a year ago.
-Orf's debut is the first for a UAH true freshman since Seab Webster began his career on Nov. 9, 2013.
 
Next Time Out
-UAH will be back in action on Sunday, taking on the host institution Tampa. Tip-off is slated for 1 p.m. CST.