HUNTSVILLE | The University of Alabama in Huntsville men's basketball team fell on Thursday night in its Gulf South Conference opener, dropping an 84-78 decision to visiting West Georgia at Kelly Court at Spragins Hall. The Chargers slip to 4-2 (0-1 GSC) with the setback, while the Wolves improve to 4-3 (1-0 GSC).
 
Turning Point
-The Wolves shot a blistering 83.3 percent, missing just three of their 18 attempts in the second half to erase a 46-36 deficit and secure the victory.
 
Inside the Box Score
-Five Chargers reached double figures in scoring on the night, led by JJ Kaplan's strong showing as the redshirt sophomore went 7-for-10 on his way to scoring a team-best 18 points, and the Huntsville native narrowly missed out on a double-double as he also paced the team on the glass with nine rebounds.
-Dalton Barkley scored 13, Sam Orf chipped in with 12, and both Tanner Finley and Seth Swalve tallied 10.
-Swalve also logged a team-high six assists.
-Marquill Smith had a game-high 34, going 11-for-17 from the field for West Georgia.
-For the contest, UAH shot 46.3 percent, while the guests finished the game connecting on 62.5 percent of their shots.
-West Georgia also won the rebounding battle by a 32-29 margin, but the Chargers held a 12-0 advantage in second-chance points.
-UAH also capitalized on West Georgia's 20 turnovers, outscoring the Wolves 21-7 on points off miscues while giving it away just 11 times.
 
Inside the Flow
-UAH had a hot start, jumping out to a 7-0 lead just over two minutes into the contest, but West Georgia would respond and grab its first lead of the night at 10-9 just three minutes later at the 15:00 mark.
-The Chargers answered with an 11-2 run to take an eight-point advantage at 20-12 with 11:37 left in the opening half, but the guests would eventually knot the contest at 32-32 later in the period with 3:25 remaining until the break.
-Five points from Orf down the stretch, however, helped UAH take a 41-36 lead into the locker room.
-The Chargers took advantage of a pair of UWG turnovers and hit back-to-back triples to go up 46-36 just over a minute into the second half, but the guests proceeded to make 13 of their first 14 shots in the second half to go up 73-63 with just 5:33 left in the game.
-UAH chipped away and made it a two-point game at 80-78 with just under a minute left before the Wolves held the Chargers scoreless the rest of the way to create the 84-78 final.
 
Noteworthy
-The 18 points by Kaplan are his most this season and represents a total that is just one point shy of his career best of 19 which he set against Oakland City on Dec. 30, 2017.
-The six assists for Swalve match his season-best showing from the opening-day victory over Saint Leo.
 
Next Time Out
-The Chargers will aim to bounce back on Saturday when the team takes on Auburn Montgomery on the road. Tip-off is slated for 4 p.m.