Union women clinch top seed in GSC West, win 75-65 over UAH

JACKSON, Tenn. – The Union University women’s basketball team posted a 75-65 win over the University of Alabama Huntsville. With the win, Union has now clinched the No. 1 seed in the Gulf South Conference West with one week of regular season play left.

According to a press release from Steven Aldridge, Assistant Director of Athletics for Sports Communication, Union is 14-4 overall and in league play. UAH dropped to 8-7 on the season and in the GSC West.

Union defeated the Lady Chargers 63-59, Saturday.

Clinching the top seed in the west means Union is guaranteed to host a quarterfinal, and with a win, a semifinal game at home in Fred DeLay Gymnasium for the Gulf South Conference Tournament. The GSC Quarterfinal game will be Tuesday, March 2 and the semifinal game would be Friday, March 5. Times are to be determined.

Alabama Huntsville opened the game with a basket, but it was Union with the hot start. The Lady Bulldogs posted a 9-0 run to lead 9-2 at the 7:15 mark of the first half. The run started with a 3-pointer from senior Emily Beard. Union pushed the lead up to as many as 12 points twice in the first quarter. The first was following a Kieli Robinson layup to lead 17-5. The next was following a 3-point play from Shanique Lucas to lead 20-8. Union quarter the half leading 20-11. UAH showed life early in the second quarter, opening play with back-to-back 3-pointers from Selena Pruitt to cut its deficit to 20-17. Union, however, stopped to UAH run and thanks to a couple of three-pointers, one Lucas and one from Jordan Little. In the final minute of the half, a 3-pointer from Selale Kepenc gave Union its largest lead of the half, 40-26. That score stood at the break.

Union came out of the locker room on fire, jumping out to a 50-38 lead over the first two minutes of play. The 10-2 run was capped by two 3-pointers from Kepenc. Union led by as many as 24 points, 54-30 with seven minutes left in the third period. UAH began to chip away at Union’s lead. Holly Harris hit back-to-back 3-pointers late in the period, cutting Union’s deficit to 62-51 at the end of three quarters.

The fourth quarter started slow for both teams. UAH finally broke through two minutes into the final quarter with a fifth 3-pointer from Harris to cut the deficit to eight, 62-54. Jaelencia Williams scored Union’s first bucket of the quarter at the 7:42 mark. With Union leading 66-56, UAH hit its 14th and final 3-pointer of the game to cut the Union lead to 66-59 with 5:53 left to play. Neither team scored for the next minute and a half. Union stopped the scoring drought with a couple of free throws from Sadie Knee with 4:20 left to lead 68-59. Union added a free throw from Robinson to push the lead back to double digits, 69-59 with 3:35 left. After Williams extended Union’s lead to 71-59 with a pair of free throws, UAH got six free throws within the final two minutes to get within six points, 71-65, with 54 seconds left. Union’s Williams ended a 6-minute field goal drought for Union with a layup to put Union up 73-65 with 31 seconds left. Two free throws for Knee set the final score at 75-65. UAH’s last field goal was at the 5:54 mark of the fourth quarter.

Union was led by Lucas with 25 points and six assists. Williams scored 19 points with eight rebounds. Union shot 51 percent from the field, 35 percent (8-23) from long range, and 77 percent (13-17) from the free throw line.

Union outrebounded UAH 35-29, with the offensive rebounds being equal at seven each. Turnovers were close, Union with 12 and UAH with 10.

Alabama Huntsville was led by Woods with 19 points and 17 rebounds. Harris added 17 points. The Chargers shot 37 percent from the field, 41 percent (14-34) from 3-point range, and 92 percent (11-12) from the charity stripe.

Up next for Union will be the final regular-season games of the year, a pair of road games at Christian Brothers, February 26-27. Visit www.uuathletics.com/live for coverage options.

Union men earn road win at No. 10 UAH, 80-65

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. – The Union University men’s basketball team posted an 80-65 win at No. 10 University of Alabama in Huntsville.

According to a press release from Steven Aldridge, Assistant Director of Athletics for Sports Communication, Union improved to 10-6 overall and in Gulf South Conference West play. Alabama Huntsville took its first GSC loss of the year, falling to 12-2 overall and 12-1 in league play.

Union fell 73-61 at UAH, Saturday..

The win for Union was key on several fronts. First, the win helps Union keep a solid grip on the No. 2 seed in the GSC West Standings with means at GSC Tournament Quarterfinal home game. Second, it is a key win over a ranked team which will boost the region rankings status for the Bulldogs, already listed in the top-8. And finally, the win for Union at UAH marked the first victory for the Union men’s team at UAH since joining the league in 2012-13.

Alabama Huntsville opened the game with a basket, followed by a 3-pointer from Union’s Dusan Djordjevic. The first half was back and forth. UAH led by as many as five points, 16-11, while Union also led by as many as five points, 27-22. UAH rallied and led 33-30, before Union closed out the half with a 7-0 run. Union’s late run included five points from Tylandrius Parks on a layup and 3-pointer. The first half included nine lead changes and three ties. Union led 37-33 at the half.

Union took control of the game in the second half. JC Hawkins opened the second half with a 3-pointer. Union quickly got its lead up to double figures, 45-35 on a Parks layup with 17:59 left to play. Union continued to extend its lead. Union led by 17, but UAH cut the deficit down to 13 points,63-50, with 10:42 left. Union posted a 6-0 run including five from Hunter Vick on a 3-pointer and jumper. Union’s largest lead was 19 points on three occasions in the second half, 69-50, 71-52, and 74-55. Union coasted down the stretch to the 80-65 win.

Union was led by JC Hawkins with 19 points including five 3-pointers. Tylandruis Parks scored 18 points, Djordjevic added 13 points, and Justin Debuck scored 12 points. Hunter Vick scored nine points and led with nine rebounds and five assists. Union shot 45 percent from the field, 35 percent (12-34) from long range, and 75 percent (6-8) from the free throw line.

Union outrebounded UAH 42-37, including 12-10 offensively. Turnovers were low for both teams, seven for Union and eight for UAH.

Alabama Huntsville was led by JJ Kaplan with 17 points. Seth Swalve added 15 points and Sam Orf scored 13 points. The Chargers shot 41 percent from the field, 18 percent (4-22) from 3-point range, and 75 percent (9-12) from the free throw line.

Up next for Union will be the final regular-season games of the year, two home games versus Christian Brothers, Friday at 6 p.m. and Saturday at 3 p.m., February 26-27. Tickets can be purchased at www.uuathletics.com/tickets. Visit www.uuathletics.com/live for coverage options.