HUNTSVILLE | The No. 11 University of Alabama in Huntsville men's basketball team is going back to the Gulf South Conference Men's Basketball Championship title game following a 54-52 victory over Lee on Friday night at Kelly Court at Spragins Hall. The Chargers improve to 14-2 on the season with the victory, while the Flames dip to 14-5.
 
This will mark UAH's third consecutive trip to the championship game.
 
Senior Sam Orf led the Chargers on the night as he poured in 16 thanks in part to an 8-for-10 performance from the charity stripe that included three in the clutch in the waning moments of the game, and for good measure he added seven rebounds and a pair of assists. 
 
He was the only Charger in double figures but both Seth Swalve and Max Shulman had nine, and one of Shulman's buckets proved to be the score that would put the home team ahead for good as his layup with 1:24 remaining in the contest pushed UAH in front 51-50.
 
After fruitless possessions for both teams gave Lee the ball back with just 22 seconds left, Orf would steal the ball away from Noah Boler and then was fouled with his subsequent free throws giving the Blue and White a three-point advantage.
 
A pair of free throws from the East Division Player of the Year Quay Kennedy – who UAH held to just nine points – cut the Charger advantage to just one, but Orf would add one last at the line to produce the 54-52 final.
 
The game was a defensive battle throughout, with Lee's largest lead a five-point advantage and the Chargers pushing out to at one point a six-point cushion. 
 
The five-point margin for Lee came at 43-38 with 12:11 left in the contest, but the Chargers would outscore the Flames 13-7 over the next 11 minutes to have the Shulman bucket push the team in front for good.
 
UAH shot just 33.3 percent from the floor and was 26.9 percent from 3-point land, but the Chargers were also solid defensively, holding Lee to an overall shooting mark of 38.8 percent and a 3-point performance of 25.0 percent. 
 
A slim, but key, difference in the contest were turnovers as Lee gave it away 16 times compared to 10 miscues for the Chargers, and UAH enjoyed an 11-9 margin in points off turnovers.
 
The Chargers will now play in yet another rematch of last year's tournament, taking on the top seed from the East Division in Valdosta State who used a 63-point second half to defeat West Georgia 99-89. A year ago in Birmingham, UAH defeated VSU 91-82 en route to the program's fourth GSC tournament championship.
 
In order to ensure a safe environment for the student-athletes on Sunday, the GSC is restricting attendance to family members only, and no tickets will be available to the general public.