SUPER SHOWDOWNS: The 2016-17 regular season home slate for the No. 19 UAH men's basketball team ends in a pair of marquee matchups, starting with a meeting between the two teams tied first in the Gulf South Conference standings when No. 25 Valdosta State comes to town on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. and concluding with a Saturday visit from fourth-place West Florida at 4 p.m. The Chargers enter the weekend at 19-5 (15-3 GSC).
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SENIOR SENDOFF: Prior to the start of the team's final regular season home game of the season on Saturday, the Chargers will honor seniors
Michael Gilmore,
Collin Langley,
Brandon Roberts,
Troy Saxton, and
Seab Webster. During the group's tenure in Huntsville, the Chargers have won two regular season GSC titles, captured a GSC tournament championship, and appeared in two NCAA South Regionals including an appearance in the Round of 16 a year ago.
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RECAPPING LAST WEEK: The Chargers picked up a road sweep a week ago, traveling to West Alabama for a 76-72 victory on Thursday before winning 95-90 at West Georgia. Webster averaged 23.5 points in the two games, while Saxton scored 18.0 points to go along with a total of 16 assists in the two victories. With the two wins, UAH has now won 14 of the team's last 16 games.
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STRONG SHOOTING LEADS TO DUBS: UAH shot at least 50.0 percent from the field in the two games last week, running the season total to 10 games in which it has shot at least that mark. The Chargers are undefeated in each of those contest.
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SAXTON SURGING: Saxton's strong week against UWA and UWG pushed his season scoring average into double figures at 10.1 points per contest for the first time since the team's fourth game of the year. The Louisville, Kentucky, native has also been an assist machine of late, averaging 7.8 per contest over the team's last five games.
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ABOUT VALDOSTA STATE: Thursday's showdown features the two top teams in the GSC as VSU is 20-4 overall and 15-3 in the conference, and the Blazers own a strong 8-3 mark in road games. Helping the team score over 87 points per contest, Jeremiah Hill leads an astonishing group of six players scoring in double figures as he is scoring at a clip of 19.2 points per contest.
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SERIES HISTORY: After erasing a 14-point deficit on the way to an 82-72 victory at VSU on Jan. 2, the Chargers now trail in the all-time series with the Blazers by just one at 26-25. Last year in the Rocket City, UAH picked up an 80-75 victory.
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ABOUT WEST FLORIDA: The Argos enter play ahead of their trip to North Alabama and UAH this week tied for fourth in the conference at 11-7 and 16-7 overall. Four players are scoring in double figures for UWF with Austin Somerfield pacing the team with 13.8 points per game.
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SERIES HISTORY: The Chargers were 76-67 winners in Pensacola on New Year's Even to run their advantage in the all-time series with UWF to 34-15. On national television a year ago, UAH was a 73-61 victor over the Argos in the last meeting in the Tennessee Valley.