ONE MORE TIME IN FLORENCE: A rivalry will come to a close on Saturday as the UAH men's basketball team makes what will likely be a final appearance in Florence to take on North Alabama with tip-off slated for 3 p.m. UAH enters the contest at 14-10 overall and 7-9 in Gulf South Conference action.
FARE THEE WELL: North Alabama will start its transition to Division I next year, thus bringing to a close what has been a beloved rivalry between the two schools that are separated by just 60 miles as the crow flies.
LAST TIME OUT: The Chargers went 1-2 during the last segment of the season, winning at Union 81-75 before falling at Christian Brothers and to West Alabama at home.
AROUND THE GSC: With four league games remaining for the Chargers, UAH finds itself in a three-way tie for seventh in the league, and it just so happens that the other two teams that own 7-9 GSC records are UAH's next two opponents in North Alabama and Lee. Delta State sits one game ahead in sixth, while West Georgia and Mississippi College are a game back in a tie for ninth.
FREEBIES: Kip Owens has taken advantage of his trips to the charity stripe, earning 70 attempts on the season while making 64 of them for a conversion rate of 91.4 percent. That free throw percentage ranks Owens tops in the GSC, and the Memphis native has made his last 17 attempts at the line dating back to a miss on his first try against West Florida on Jan. 27.
SENIOR SURGING: After scoring just seven in UAH's first meeting with North Alabama on Jan. 20,
Justin Ward has scored in double figures in each of the past five games. During that period, the New Market, Alabama, native has average 21.2 points per contest thanks in part to 16 made 3-pointers during the span.
OFFENSIVE SHOWDOWN: Saturday's contest will pit the third- and fourth-best scoring offenses in the GSC as the Chargers are third by tallying 84.8 points per contest with North Alabama ranked fourth with its scoring average of 83.3 points per game. The two teams are also the top shooting teams in the GSC with UAH first at 40.7 percent while UNA is second at 40.2 percent.
ABOUT NORTH ALABAMA: The Lions head into Saturday's game at 12-11 overall, 7-9 in GSC play, and 8-4 at Flowers Hall. Five players are scoring in double figures for UNA led by Kendall Stafford who is scoring 15.2 points per contest, while Sharwyn McGee leads North Alabama on the glass with 8.9 boards per game.
SERIES HISTORY: The meeting on Saturday will be the 68th all-time with UNA holding a 37-30 advantage. In Huntsville on Jan. 20, North Alabama went on a 14-0 run late in the second half to turn a 10-point deficit into a lead that it would not relinquish, and in that game, the Chargers were led by
Chayse Elliott who scored 21.
