HUNTSVILLE | The University of Alabama in Huntsville men's basketball team went toe-to-toe with the league leaders on Saturday but would ultimately fall in a heartbreaker by a 71-70 score to Union at Kelly Court at Spragins Hall. The Chargers slip to 11-7 (4-5 Gulf South Conference), while UU improves to 14-3 (8-1 GSC).
 
CJ Williamson turned in his best game as a Charger in the setback, knocking down 10 shots on his way to scoring a season-high 28 points while also pacing the home team on the glass by collecting nine rebounds.
 
Turning in a 20-point, eight-rebound performance was Chaney Johnson, and Auston Leslie scored 10 to go along with five rebounds, a team-best three assists, and two steals.
 
Scoring was hard to come by in the final three minutes of the game as both teams locked down defensively, with Luke Burnett nailing a 3-pointer with 2:56 left to make it a 70-68 lead for UAH before Tyree Boykin tied the contest at 70-70 with 1:26 left in the contest.
 
Tylandruis Parks then would make one of two free throws with 2.8 seconds remaining in the contest, and Union would prevent the Chargers from getting an attempt off on the ensuing possession to secure the 71-70 win.
 
The contest was back-and-forth for all 40 minutes as neither team led by more than seven in the game, and the affair featured eight lead changes and seven ties.
 
After claiming an early 5-0 advantage, the Bulldogs would end up leading through much of the opening half, but Jack Kostel had the last bucket of the period in the final minute to send the hosts into the locker room leading 36-35.
 
A 7-0 spurt for UAH that was punctuated by a Leslie steal and dunk gave the Chargers their biggest lead of the night at 51-44 at just under 14 minutes remaining in the game, and the Blue and White would enjoy that cushion on three other occasions before a 10-0 Union run would turn the game into a three-point lead for the guests at 63-60 at the 7:05 mark.
 
Neither team would lead by more than four the rest of the way.
 
UAH finished the contest shooting 41.8 percent but was just 4-for-21 from 3-point land, while the Bulldogs connected on 42.6 percent of its attempts including making 10 3-pointers. On the glass, the Chargers edged out the guests by a 40-39 margin.
 
The home team gave the ball away just eight times to build up a 15-5 edge in points off turnovers, and UAH dominated the inside game by outscoring Union by a 44-20 difference in points in the paint.
 
UAH will aim to bounce back when the team returns to action in a week at Auburn Montgomery. Tip-off on Saturday is slated for 4 p.m.