HUNTSVILLE | The University of Alabama in Huntsville men's basketball team executed just as it was drawn on up on its last offensive possession of the night, and JJ Kaplan's shot with 6.8 seconds remaining lifted the Chargers to a 68-66 win over visiting West Georgia on Tuesday night in the opening round of the 2019 VisitSpaceCoast.com Gulf South Conference Men's Basketball Championship at Kelly Court at Spragins Hall.
 
The Chargers improve to 23-6 with the victory, while UWG slips to 17-12.
 
After the Wolves had tied the contest at 66-66, head coach Lennie Acuff asked for time, and the GSC's all-time wins leader proved to be magical once again.
 
After milking the shot clock all the way down and with the play pulling all five of UWG's defenders to the left side of the floor, Tanner Finley lobbed it perfectly to Kaplan who was left unguarded under the right side of the basket, allowing him to make the uncontested layup to put the Chargers ahead.
 
On the ensuing possession, Marquil Smith's try near the buzzer would not go, sending UAH to its 10th all-time appearance in the conference tournament semifinals.
 
Kaplan finished the night with eight points to go along with his team-best 15 rebounds.
 
For the contest, the Chargers were led by Sam Orf who went 8-for-12 from the floor on his way to scoring 21, while Finley also finished in double figures with 15 points as he knocked down five 3-pointers.
 
Micheal Zabatakis led the visitors with 22, while Smith finished with 19 points and 12 boards.
 
The lead exchanged hands six times in a nip-and-tuck first half in which the largest advantage for either team was a seven-point margin at 11-4 for the Chargers after a Malik Cook-Stroupe triple fell at the 12:40 mark, and it would be UAH who would go into the locker room leading at the break as Kaplan layup near the end of the period made it 35-32.
 
UAH then had an especially strong push near the midway point of the second half, surging ahead to a 62-50 lead with 7:17 remaining, but the Wolves then went on a 16-4 run to knot the gap at 66-66 with just 33 seconds left in the game.
 
The Chargers shot 52.1 percent on the night from the floor including an 11-for-25 mark from downtown to improve to 16-0 on the season when knocking down at least 10 3-pointers, and UAH's defensive effort held the Wolves to a 37.1 percent mark from the floor.
 
On the glass, West Georgia outrebounded UAH by a 38-34 margin, and the Wolves hung in the game thanks to a 17-4 advantage in points off turnovers.
 
The Chargers will now turn their attention to the semifinals where they will meet second-seeded West Alabama. 
 
UAH has dropped two heartbreakers to the Tigers this season, falling 65-64 at home on Jan. 17 before dropping an 80-76 decision in overtime in Livingston on Feb. 7.
 
Tip-off is set for 7:15 p.m. at the Pete Hanna Center on the campus of Samford University.