SAINT LEO, Fla. | Max Shulman scored 24, Luke Burnett added 20, and the No. 20 University of Alabama in Huntsville men's basketball team picked up its first victory of the new campaign in defeating host Saint Leo 89-86. The Chargers improve to 1-2, while SLU starts the year at 0-1.
 
Shulman finished the contest with eight made shots including four 3-pointers while also grabbing five rebounds and collecting five steals, while Burnett hit six from long-range on his way to reaching the 20-point mark for the second time in three games.
 
Scoring 16 and adding a team-high seven rebounds was CJ Williamson, and Chaney Johnson was a perfect 6-for-6 at the charity stripe while rounding out UAH's double-figure scorers with 14.
 
After the first points of the game came off a Johnson dunk, Saint Leo would control play for the next several minutes and built up as much as a 15-point advantage at 24-9 with 12:36 left in the opening period, and the lead would remain in the double digits through much of the middle section of the half including at 32-22 at the 6:31 mark. 
 
A 15-3 run over the next four minutes would give the Chargers a brief lead at 37-35, and after the hosts went back in front, a Burnett triple right before the end of the half would give UAH a 41-40 lead at the halftime break.
 
The Blue and White would go up by as many as seven early on the in the second half before the momentum swung back in the favor of the Lions, giving them a 58-55 lead with 11:52 left in the game, but a 23-11 push for the Chargers that was punctuated by back-to-back Burnett treys gave UAH a 78-69 lead with 6:04 remaining.
 
The Lions would close the gap to just one, however, on a pair of occasions in the final 22 seconds of the game, but two free throws from Williamson and pair from Burnett helped UAH wrap up the contest with the 89-86 victory.
 
UAH finished the contest shooting 52.5 percent including going 14-for-31 from 3-point land while also outscoring the Lions by a 32-18 clip in the paint. 
 
Saint Leo shot 46.9 percent and was led by Wade Coomer's 21 points. 
 
The Chargers won the battle on the glass by a 34-33 margin.
 
UAH will be back in action on Saturday, turning around to face Tampa in a neutral site game at Saint Leo. Tip-off is slated for 2 p.m. CT.