HUNTSVILLE | The University of Alabama in Huntsville men's basketball team saw its 2016-17 season come to a heartbreaking close on Tuesday night as Rollins won the 2017 NCAA Division II South Regional championship 72-68 at Kelly Court at Spragins Hall. The Chargers end the year at 26-8, while the Tars move on to the Elite Eight at 24-10.
 
UAH was led in the contest by a trio of seniors in Seab Webster and Brandon Roberts who both scored 18 on the strength of four 3-pointers made by both, while Troy Saxton added 13 on a 4-for-5 night from the field.
 
All three were named to the regional's all-tournament team for their efforts during the weekend.
 
In addition to Webster, Roberts, and Saxton, the game also marked the final one for fellow seniors Michael Gilmore and Collin Langley. During the group's tenure in Huntsville, the Chargers posted 89 wins, hosted two NCAA tournaments and appeared in a third, won the GSC tournament twice, and captured a pair of GSC regular season titles.
 
Rollins was led on the night by Jeff Merton who scored 20 on his way to being named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player.
 
The seventh-seeded Tars grabbed the game's first significant lead, and by the 11:02 mark of the opening half, Rollins enjoyed a 20-10 advantage and was up 33-24 with 3:52 to go in the period.
 
UAH – as was the case in so many other instances throughout the campaign – had an impressive answer, scoring 12 straight to send the near-capacity Spragins Hall crowd into a frenzy, and the Chargers ultimately outscored the guests 16-3 to go up 40-36 into the locker room at the break.
 
Seven straight points for the Tars to start the second half put Rollins back ahead just over two minutes into the stanza, and though UAH would take the lead on a pair of occasions in the middle part of the half, a 19-7 run over seven minutes put the Tars ahead 66-56 with 6:15 left in the game.
 
UAH had one last push left in the tank, scoring nine straight while holding the Tars scoreless for more than five minutes to make it a 66-65 game with just over a minute left, but the Tars would hold off the furious comeback effort to secure the win.
 
For the game, UAH connected on just 37.3 percent of its attempts, and though the team earned numerous good looks from long range, the Chargers finished the night shooting 30.8 percent on 12-of-39 from beyond the arc.
 
Rollins ended up shooting 45.5 percent.
 
The rebounding battle was a narrow one with Rollins grabbing 35 boards to UAH's 34.
 
Roberts led the team on the glass as he grabbed eight rebounds, and Saxton added six assists.