LIVINGSTON, Ala. – A pair of jump shots by Justin Debuck down the stretch lifted Union to a 59-55 Gulf South Conference men’s basketball victory over West Alabama Friday at Pruitt Hall Gym.

Union improved to 7-4 with its second win over UWA in three outings. West Alabama is 3-2. The Tigers and the Bulldogs play again Saturday at 2 p.m.

“Holding that team to 59 points is a nice job by us, but it’s awful hard to beat anybody in this league when you score just 55,” Woodruff said. “Give them credit. They held us to 37 percent shooting from the floor just like they did in the loss up there.”

UWA went on a 14-2 run midway through the first half to give the Tigers a 23-14 lead with just over seven minutes to play before the break. Union then rallied to make five of their last six field goals to cut the Tiger lead to 28-24 with 3:29 left in the half and managed to shave the Tiger lead to 32-30 by intermission.

In a game where the lead changed hands eight times and was tied six times, Union took a 51-49 lead on a three-pointer from Tylandrius Parks with 7:13 left in the game and never trailed again. The Bulldogs also limited UWA to just 2-of-11 shooting from the floor to end the game.

After a layup from Tiger guard Justin Allison tied the game at 55-55 with 1:21 left, Debuck hit jumpers at 1:02 and 14.1 seconds to ice the win for Union. Debuck’s last bucket came as time expired on the shot clock.

Parks scored 20 points to lead all scorers. Hunter Vick chipped in 12 for the Bulldogs, who shot 51 percent from the floor (24-of-47). The Bulldogs also converted 5-of-11 three-point attempts while West Alabama was 7-of-23 from long range. JC Hawkins had eight rebounds.

Shardarrion Allen played 40 minutes and scored 15 points to pace West Alabama. Roger Davis chipped in 10. Allison led Tiger rebounders with seven.

“It’s really hard to win,” Woodruff said. “In a game like this a couple of possessions are the difference in the game, the difference between winning and losing.

“There aren’t a lot of secrets anymore because at this point there isn’t much that is going to change with either team,” UWA head coach Nick Woodruff said. “We just have to show up and see who wants it more.”

Saturday’s meeting will be the fourth in 16 days between West Alabama and Union after the Tigers had not played for 13 days prior to Friday’s outing due to pandemic precautions.

The post Union escapes with GSC win at UWA appeared first on Alabama Sports.

JACKSON, Tenn. – The University of West Alabama Men’s basketball made 17 free throws and needed every one as the Tigers collected their first road win of the season in a 73-67 win over the Union University Bulldogs Saturday in the Fred DeLay Gymnasium in Gulf South Conference action.

UWA (3-1) finished the game 94.4 percent (17-of-18) from the free throw line. West Alabama also shot a season best from the floor going 59.1 percent (26-of-44) from the floor.

“I told the guys, “don’t worry about getting on the bus if they weren’t ready for a fight.” They were all on the bus, so I figured they were ready,” said Head coach Nick Woodruff. “We had a really tough film session this morning and our guys bounced back in a great way. They responded to the coaching, didn’t pout and got our team a very important win on the road.”

Robert Davis led the Tigers in scoring with 16 points the effort from the line as he went 8-for-8 in free throws including four down the stretch to ice the game away. Davis also finished 2-for-4 from three and added and team leading three steals and three rebounds.

“It was a team effort. We made an effort to get the ball inside and felt we had an advantage there. That in turn led to open shots and driving lanes for our guards. Rob made some key free throws down the stretch,” said Woodruff.

Shardarrion Allen and Kortrijk Miles both scored 14 points each. Allen added a team leading four assists and two rebounds. Miles also provided four rebounds, two assists and two steals.

“Kortrijk and Phat (Allen) are finding their spots and opportunities within the offense,” said Woodruff. “This time of year, our Defense is ahead of our offense and we are okay with that. The offense will continue to get better as we play together and get more experience.

Justin Allison rounded out the double-digit scorers with 12 points along with five rebounds and two assists. CJ Melton led on the boards with six rebounds.

The Bulldogs (5-3) took an early lead going up 12-7 at the 14:37 mark in the first half before the true back and forth started. The lead changed five of the six times it did all game between that point and with 1:21 remaining where Allison hit a free throw to go up 30-29. UWA stretched the lead to 32-29 at the half.

With 14:55 left in the game, Union tied the contest off a three-pointer by Hunter Vick at 43-43. However, the Tigers outscored the hosting Bulldogs 40-24 the rest of the way on the way to the 73-67 victory.

Tylandrius Parks led all scorers with 20 points while Vick scored 19 as the two were the only Bulldogs in double figures.

As a unit, Union shot 52.9 percent (27-of-51) from the floor, 39.1 percent (9-of-23) from behind the arc and 80 percent (4-of-5) from the charity stripe.

The Tigers won the battle of the boards 25-19 and scored 24 points on turnovers compared to 17 for Union. Meanwhile, the Bulldogs committed 15 turnovers and UWA had 16.

“We still have a long way to go and it doesn’t get any easier this week at Huntsville,” said Woodruff.

After the four games in five days marathon, West Alabama will have a few days off just in time to get ready for another road trip as the Tigers will face the University of Alabama in Huntsville Chargers on Jan. 22 and Jan. 23.

The post Four Tigers in double figures in road win at Union appeared first on Alabama Sports.

LIVINGSTON, Ala. – Roger Davis scored 21 points to lead four West Alabama players in double figures on the way to a 67-49 Gulf South Conference men’s basketball victory over Mississippi College Wednesday at Pruitt Hall Gym.

West Alabama improved to 2-0 with the win. Mississippi College dropped to 0-4.

Shardarrion “Fat” Allen chipped in 15 points, followed by Robert Davis with 14 and Kortrijk Miles with 10. Allen led all rebounders with eight as the Tigers outrebounded the Choctaws 37 to 25. Davis had five assists for UWA.

“To hold Mississippi College to 49 points is a great effort defensively because it takes a big time effort to guard that team,” Woodruff said after his Tigers limited MC to 15 points under their season average. “I am extremely proud for our guys because we work really hard.

“This was a good test for us, but we are a long way from getting it done,” Woodruff said. “Right now it is more about us and how we defend than it is about the other team.”

It took West Alabama over four minutes to record its first points, a Roger Davis layup at the 15:28 mark in the first half. It was a different story over the next eight minutes with the Tigers converting eight straight field goal attempts.

Neither team could locate the bottom of the bucket as the first half wound to a close with West Alabama holding a 25-20 lead. The Tigers did not score for the final 3:25 of the half, making just 2-of-10 field goal tries. The Choctaws were blanked for the last 2:18.

For the second consecutive night West Alabama hit the accelerator in the second half, converting 53 percent (14-of-26) from the floor while limiting MC to 39 percent (10-of-26). Robert Davis scored all 14 of his points in the final 20 minutes and Allen had 11 of his 15 in the second half.

“I am thrilled for Roger to have that kind of night and Fat is also playing really well,” Woodruff said. “One thing that goes unnoticed sometimes is that CJ Melton is like Swiss Army Knife as a defender. He is good wherever we ask him to be.”

Brandon Boston was the only Choctaw to score in double figures, but led all scorers with 27 points on a 12-of-19 shooting night. He also led Mississippi College rebounders with seven.

West Alabama travels to Jackson, Tennessee to take on Union (4-2) in back-to-back games Friday and Saturday. Mississippi College doesn’t play again until hosting Union on Jan. 22 and 23.

The post Four Tigers in double digits, defense dominates in Tiger win appeared first on Alabama Sports.

LIVINGSTON – It took nine months, nine days and over 70 practices, but new West Alabama head Nick Woodruff finally earned his first win as the head coach of the Tigers, a 70-64 come-from-behind decision over Mississippi College Tuesday at Pruitt Hall Gym.

“Not that I am counting,” Woodruff said.

West Alabama (1-0) and Mississippi College (0-3) finish the season-opening series for the Tigers Wednesday at 5 p.m. at Pruitt Hall.

Mississippi College got off to a fast start, shooting 83 percent (10-for-12) from the floor in the first 11 minutes to build a 22-15 advantage, but missed their next eight shots as the Tigers cut the Choctaw lead to 24-21 with just over four minutes to play in the first half.

West Alabama continued to defend well as the half wound down, holding the Choctaws to 3-for-14 from the field down the stretch with Mississippi College taking a 30-26 lead into the half.

“They punched us in the mouth early, but we rallied back,” Woodruff said. “We have waited so long to play this game. I mean here we are opening our season on January 12 due to different COVID precautions.

“That’s a resilient group of kids in that locker room, a good group that really wants to play,” Woodruff said. “It’s been a rollercoaster ride so far, but now we have to get going and do it all again tomorrow (Wednesday).”

The Tigers came out firing on all cylinders to begin the second half, tying the game at 30-30 at the 19:24 mark before a three-pointer by Roger Davis with 18:53 left gave UWA its first lead at 33-30. UWA outscored MC 20-9 over first eight minutes of second half.

Mississippi College ended up shooting 54 percent (26-for-48) from the floor, while West Alabama rebounded from a slow start to convert 44 percent (27-of-61). The Tigers recorded nine steals and forced 17 Choctaw turnovers.

The game was tied at 61-61 with 2:14 left, but a jumper from Shardarrion Allen and a pair of free throws each from Justin Allison and CJ Melton stretched the UWA lead to 67-61 with 1:53 to play. Three free throws from Antonio Cowart helped MC cut the lead to 67-64 before a three-pointer from Allison provided the final margin with 7.5 seconds left.

Allison led all scorers and three West Alabama double-figure scorers with 20 points. Allen chipped in 18 on a 9-of-12 shotting night. Davis chipped in 14. Allison, the UWA point guard, also collected a team-high seven rebounds and five assists. Allen had four steals.

“Justin had a great game and I am proud of him,” Woodruff said. “It’s been a rough stretch of practice for him because I have coached him really hard over the last week, but he is tough enough to handle it and I am so proud of his coachability.”

Brandon Boston scored 18 points and Cowart chipped in 17 to lead Mississippi College, Marko Jovanovic collected a game-high eight rebounds, for MC. Boston made 7-of-10 from the field. The Choctaws outrebounded UWA, 33-27.

The post Woodruff earns first win at UWA appeared first on Alabama Sports.