CARROLLTON, Ga. | Setting up a first-place showdown in Huntsville next week, the No. 22 University of Alabama in Huntsville men's basketball team used a strong second-half push to defeat West Georgia on Saturday by a 95-90 score on the road. UAH improves to 19-5 (15-3 Gulf South Conference) and on Thursday will face Valdosta State who also won on Saturday to keep pace at an identical 15-3 conference mark.
 
West Georgia slips to 9-14 (6-11 GSC).
 
Turning Point
-With UWG holding onto an 82-78 lead with just over four minutes left in the game, the Chargers scored six straight – including a Kip Owens 3-pointer that put UAH in front – to go up 86-82 with just two minutes remaining, and the hosts would be unable to pull any closer than two in the waning moments as UAH secured the road win.
 
Inside the Box Score
-Five different Chargers scored in double figures with Seab Webster and Brandon Roberts both breaching the 20-point plateau with 24 and 21, respectively.
-Troy Saxton was a strong 6-for-9 from the floor to score 17, while Justin Ward added 14 off the bench, and Michael Gilmore chipped in with 12.
-Webster and Owens led UAH on the glass as both grabbed seven rebounds in the contest.
-Saxton continued his strong play at the point, dishing out nine of UAH's 17 assists in the game.
-Keron Briggs had 20 to lead West Georgia, and UAH's defensive effort held UWG leading scorer Stephaun Branch to just 10 in the game.
-The Chargers shot 50.0 percent from the floor and hit 11 3-pointers, while West Georgia stayed in the game by knocking down 18 triples as part of a 47.0 percent shooting performance overall.
-UWG held a slim 37-36 edge in rebounding.
 
Inside the Flow
-West Georgia led for much of the opening half and built up as much as a nine-point advantage at 42-33 with 2:35 left until halftime, but the Chargers would reel off a 9-1 run to pull within one before Briggs hit a 3 right before the break to create a 46-42 lead for the Wolves going into the half.
-Starting the second half strong, UAH scored the first nine points to go up 51-46 just over two minutes into the period, but the hosts would go on another strong spurt and eventually went back ahead by seven at 65-58 with 11:21 left in the game.
-The Chargers would whittle that deficit back down, and a Ward triple at the 8:39 mark put his team back up at 71-69 as part of a half that featured four ties and four lead changes.
-UWG then regained the advantage, pushing it out to four on two occasions before the strong finish to the game from the Chargers which included a 7-for-8 stretch from the charity stripe.
 
Noteworthy
-Webster has now scored at least 20 points in three straight games, allowing his season scoring average to creep up to 17.9 points per game.
-For good measure, Webster also had five steals in the game which represents a season-high by a Charger.
-Saxton's nine assists represent his second-best showing of the year as he dished out 10 against North Alabama on Jan. 30.
 
Next Time Out
-In one of the most important games of the season to this point, UAH will welcome Valdosta State in a showdown for the top spot in the GSC on Thursday night at Kelly Court at Spragins Hall where tip-off is slated for 7:30. UAH was an 82-72 winner in Valdosta when the two teams met on Jan. 2.