HUNTSVILLE | The University of Alabama in Huntsville men's basketball team nearly erased a 20-point deficit on Monday night at Kelly Court at Spragins Hall, but a late push by the nation's fifth-ranked team yielded an 87-72 victory for visiting Valdosta State. The Chargers slip to 7-3 (2-2 Gulf South Conference), while VSU improves to 10-1 (3-1 GSC).
 
Turning Point
-After the Chargers had gone on a big run to pull within two at 71-69 with 4:36 left in the game, VSU outscored the hosts by a 16-3 margin over the remaining minutes to secure the contest.
 
Inside the Box Score
-JJ Kaplan led a quartet of Chargers who scored in double figures as he tallied 19 to go along with six rebounds.
-Malik Cook-Stroupe turned in a strong showing off the bench, going 5-for-7 and scoring 15, while Dalton Barkley added 13 points and seven boards.
-Rounding out UAH's double-figure scorers was Sam Orf who had 10 and a team-high three assists.
-Tanner Finley nearly logged a double-double, grabbing a team-high 10 rebounds to go along with eight points.
-For the contest, the Chargers 46.4 percent compared to a 50.8 percent shooting mark for VSU, and the Blazers won the rebounding battle by a 36-31 margin.
-UAH held the GSC's second-leading scorer Beau Justice to just 10 points which is more than 12 off his season average of 22.7 points per game, and the visitors were paced by Winston Morgan who scored 23.
 
Inside the Flow
-Ultimately VSU never trailed in the game, scoring the game's first basket and building up the 20-point margin at 42-22 by the 5:39 mark of the opening half, and the guests would take a 55-39 lead into the break at the half.
-The Chargers chipped away and made it a 10-point game after a Kaplan bucket with 14:47 left made it 60-50, and the game would stay around that margin including at the nine-minute mark when VSU went up 71-59 after the hosts had briefly made it a single-digit deficit.
-UAH then went on its best push of the night, outscoring the Blazers 10-0 over the next 4:24 thanks in part to a defensive effort that saw VSU go 0-for-7 from the floor and turn it over twice, and the run was completed by an electric dunk by Kaplan that made it 71-69 with 4:36 left.
-The Blazers, however, had a response, scoring 10 straight points in the next 2:40 to go up 81-69 on their way to the 87-72 final.
 
Noteworthy
-Kaplan is now scoring 12.4 points per contest, and his 54.9 percent mark from the floor is the second-best in the GSC.
-Orf has now scored in double figures in five straight.
 
Next Time Out
-UAH will look to bounce back on Tuesday at the Von Braun Center as the Chargers face Fort Valley State in game one of the 2018 Rocket City Classic. Tip-off is slated for 4:30 p.m.