HUNTSVILLE | The No. 11 University of Alabama in Huntsville advanced to the semifinals in the Gulf South Conference Men's Basketball Championship for the sixth time in the past seven seasons on Tuesday night and also gained a new member of the 1,000 points club in the process, defeating visiting Montevallo 82-62 at Kelly Court at Spragins Hall. The Chargers improve to 13-2 with the victory, while the Falcons end their season at 8-9.
 
JJ Kaplan became the program's 29th member of the 1,000 point club in the first half of the contest, joining teammates Seth Swalve and Sam Orf who reached the plateau earlier this season.
 
Senior Kerney Lane led the West Division's top seed in the victory as he posted a double-double with 20 points and 10 rebounds, not missing a field goal as he was 9-for-9 from the floor, and he added three assists for good measure.
 
Lane has made 11 consecutive field goals which ranks in a tie for seventh for the longest such streak in GSC history.
 
Joining Lane in double figures was Sam Orf who scored 19, while Seth Swalve added 14. The team was led on the glass by Kaplan who had 11 boards.
 
The first bucket of the game belonged to the Falcons, but after a layup at the 17:43 mark of the opening half gave the Chargers a 4-2 advantage, the Blue and White would not trail again the rest of the way thanks in part to a 56.9 percent shooting night that included 12 3-pointers.
 
The home team had a particularly strong stretch in the middle minutes of the first half, with a 12-2 run capped off by the bucket that pushed Kaplan over the 1,000-point mark giving the Chargers a 32-20 lead, and though the Falcons would trim the deficit to just three later in the period, UAH would push back out to a 43-34 advantage at the half.
 
Lane scored the first five points of the second half, pushing the home team's advantage into double digits where it would remain the rest of the contest, with the Chargers leading by as many as 22 late in the waning moments before taking the 82-62 win.
 
Montevallo shot just 38.5 percent on the evening, and the Chargers dominated the guests on the glass, outrebounding the Falcons by a 41-17 margin. 
 
UAH will now take on Lee in the semifinals, which will mark a rematch of last year's semifinal contest that saw the Chargers win 72-63 on their way to the tournament title. Kaplan scored 23 in that one, while Orf added 18.
 
The Flames advanced to Friday night's game in the Rocket City by way of a 66-63 win over West Alabama on Tuesday night. Lee is the No. 2 seed out of the East Division.
 
Tip-off at The Stable is slated for 7 p.m., and tickets are available for purchase now.