HOMEWOOD, Ala. | For the fifth time in program history, The University of Alabama in Huntsville men's basketball team secured the title at the conference tournament, winning the 2022 Gulf South Conference Men's Basketball Championship presented by TicketSmarter by defeating second-seeded Union 86-72 at the Pete Hanna Center on the campus of Samford University.
 
The 2022 team joins the 2012, 2015, 2017, and 2020 squads in capturing a conference title.
 
The team also secured the automatic berth into the NCAA tournament that is granted to the winner of the GSC, giving the Chargers their fourth straight berth to the South Regional.
 
The entire tournament field will be announced in a selection show to be held at 9:30 p.m. on Sunday night.
 
The Chargers were led on the day by All-Tournament Team member Chaney Johnson who went 11-for-19 from the floor on his way to scoring 27, while Luke Burnett made five big 3-pointers to score 20.
 
Named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player after averaging 24.3 points over the three contests, CJ Williamson had a double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds.
 
Daniel Saylor rounded out the double-figure contingent with 10.
 
UAH handed out 18 assists in the game, with Jack Kostel dishing out five while also grabbing nine boards. The team also had 17 steals as both Johnson and Williamson had four in the game.
 
After Union scored the first basket, the Chargers wasted no time surging in front, with a Shulman triple giving the team an 18-4 lead at the 14:06 mark of the opening half, and the lead would grow to as many as 18 before UAH took a 44-28 lead into the break.
 
There would be punches to take from the Bulldogs, however, as they closed the gap to 10 just 2:35 into the second half, and Union would eventually make it a five-point game at 67-62 with 9:18 remaining in the contest.
 
The lead would briefly be pushed back out to double digits before Union cut it back down to six with just under five minutes left in the contest, but a Johnson bucket would start a 10-0 run that saw Johnson and Kostel both make free throws down the stretch to secure the championship-winning victory.
 
UAH shot 47.7 percent for the contest while using a great defensive effort to hold Union to a 38.6 percent shooting mark, and the Chargers won the rebounding battle by a 41-37 margin. 
 
The Chargers outscored the Bulldogs by a 38-14 margin in the paint, and after forcing Union into 18 turnovers, they enjoyed a 16-10 edge in points off giveaways.