HUNTSVILLE | The No. 24 University of Alabama in Huntsville men's basketball team opened up Gulf South Conference play for 2022-23 with an 84-74 victory over Auburn Montgomery at Kelly Court at Spragins Hall on Saturday afternoon. UAH improves to 4-1 (1-0 GSC), while AUM slides to 0-3 (0-1 GSC).
 
UAH has now started GSC play with a victory in three of the past four seasons under head coach John Shulman.
 
The Chargers offense was guided by Chaney Johnson with a game-high 25 points on 7-of-8 shooting from the field to go along with nine rebounds and three steals. Johnson additionally went 9-for-11 on free throws in his strong offensive performance.
 
Senior Max Shulman led the Chargers on the boards with a team-high 14 rebounds in the contest in addition to eight points, three assists, two steals and a block.
 
Burnett rated second on the night with 13 points, as he sank three three-pointers against the Warhawks and contributed two rebounds.
 
Overall, 10 different Chargers recorded at least two points on Saturday with three of those players going into double figures.
 
The first half was tightly contested between the Chargers and Warhawks, as neither team led by more than four during the initial 20 minutes of play.
 
UAH finished the last 1:52 of the half on a 5-2 run to slim the visitor's advantage to 39-38 at the break. Johnson posted 16 of his 25 points on the night to lead Chargers in the opening frame.
 
Midway through the second half UAH went on a 12-0 run that included back-to-back three-pointers by Burnett that put UAH ahead for good at 53-50 with 13:18 remaining in the game.
 
The Chargers went on to outpace AUM 31-24 for the remainder of the half to earn the 84-74 victory on Saturday at Spragins Hall.
 
UAH shot 42.6 percent (26-61) on field goals overall in the contest, including a rate of 46.7 percent (14-30) in the second half.
 
The Chargers are back in action on Tuesday at 7 p.m. at Spragins Hall against Toccoa Falls in a nonconference tilt.