CHAMPIONSHIP SUNDAY - MARCH 4
WOMEN
NO. 4 WEST ALABAMA 86, NO 2 ALABAMA-HUNTSVILLE 74
NICEVILLE, Fla. -- Neither West Alabama nor Alabama-Huntsville had won a Gulf South Conference championship entering Sunday's title game at The Arena.
But Nikkia Jordan made sure UWA would no longer fall in that category. The junior guard scored a tournament-high 31 points - 21 in the second half - as the Tigers made an improbable run through the GSC Tournament to capture their first title with an 86-74 win over the Lady Chargers. Jordan was named Most Outstanding Player of the tournament.
The victory was the sixth straight for UWA (14-14), which earns the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Division II South Region Tournament next weekend. The Tigers defeated No. 5 seed West Florida, No. 1 seed Delta State and No. 2 seed UAH (23-6) to win the title.
Natalie Kelley had 15 points and 21 rebounds and five players scored in double figures for the Lady Chargers, who could not overcome 19 turnovers and a 31 percent shooting performance. Jordan Smith (team-high 20 points) and Jasmine Hammon (13), the team's two leading scorers, were a microcosm of UAH's issues, as they combined to shoot 8-for-29 with nine turnovers.
UAH struggled a bit in the first half but when Hammon completed a 3-point play with 3:08 left, the Lady Chargers held a 26-19 advantage. But UWA finsihed the half on a 10-2 run, punctuated by a Danielle Cole 3-pointer with six seconds left to give the Tigers a 29-28 halftime advantage.
It was still a one-point margin early in the second half when West Alabama took over for good. Over a 10-minute span, UWA outscored UAH 27-13. Brittany Weathers started the run with a 3-pointer and Jordan poured in nine points during the run.
When Keiara Middleton drained a free throw with with less than six minutes left, the Tigers led 65-49. The lead would get as large as 18 points and the Lady Chargers would never get any closer than 10 points the rest of the way.
Weathers scored 17 points and grabbed eight rebounds and Cole added 10 points for West Alabama. Bailee Robinson (13 points)and Morgan Duncan (10 points, seven rebounds, four assists) we big contributors for Alabama-Huntsville.
MEN
NO. 1 ALABAMA-HUNTSVILLE 58, NO. 2 CHRISTIAN BROTHERS 43
The University of Alabama in Huntsville made school history today by winning its first-ever Gulf South Conference Men’s Basketball Tournament Title at The Arena on the campus of Northwest Florida State College in Niceville, FL.
UAH (26-3) hoisted its first-ever trophy in thrilling fashion, pulling away from No. 2 seed Christian Brothers (23-6) in the Sunday’s Championships, 58-43.
CBU jumped out to a five-point lead five minutes into the contest, but the Chargers rallied to a seven-point edge thanks to a 12-0 run. The Buccaneers knotted the score at 14-14 at 7:40, but Alabama-Huntsville pulled away en route to a 28-19 halftime advantage. Christian Brothers whittled the deficit to five points less than two minutes into the second frame, but UAH dominated the rest of the way, leading by as many as 17 points.
UAH point guard Josh Magette poured in a game-high 23 points and a team-high seven rebounds in 39 minutes, while forward Srdjan Boskovic added 13 points. CBU forward Zack Warner netted a team-best 17 points, while guard Scott Dennis provided 10 points.
Magette was named the Tournament’s Most Outstanding Player. Rounding out the All-Tournament Team was UAH guard Jaime Smith, CBU’s Warner and Dennis, West Florida forward Jamar Moore and West Georgia forward Da’Ron Sims.
Alabama-Huntsville also won the league’s automatic NCAA Tournament berth and the Chargers should earn the right to host next week’s South Regional Tournament. Christian Brothers should earn an at-large NCAA bid, while West Georgia and West Florida also hold out hopes.
SATURDAY, MARCH 3 - SEMIFINALS
WOMEN
NO. 4 WEST ALABAMA 62, NO. 1 DELTA STATE 53
West Alabama blitzed top-seed Delta State with a 10-0 run to start the game and the Lady Statesmen never recovered. Danielle Cole scored a game-high 17 points and Brittany Weathers scored 15 points off the bench to lead the Tigers to a 62-53 victory and their first trip to the GSC Championship Game since 1987.
UWA (13-14) will play Alabama-Huntsville for the GSC title Sunday at 11 a.m. The winner will earn the league’s automatic berth into the NCAA Division II South Region Tournament. The loss by DSU (21-6) ends a run of six consecutive title game appearances.
The Tigers used a swarming defense that produced 15 steals and forced 21 Lady Statesmen turnovers. Even when DSU had good looks at the basket, the ball did not fall. UWA had 14 blocked shots (Synthea Reed had seven of them) and held its opponents to 32 percent shooting from the field.
Delta State closed its early deficit to two points late in the first half but still trailed 26-21 at halftime. A 3-pointer by Veronica Walker (11 points, 10 rebounds) cut the deficit to 42-41 with 6:43 left but West Alabama never relinquished the lead the entire game.
Brittany Roberts had a team-high 12 points and Rhandi Ball had 10 points and 10 rebounds for Delta State.
NO. 2 ALABAMA-HUNTSVILLE 64, NO. 6 NORTH ALABAMA 54
For nearly 35 minutes, North Alabama looked as if it were going to pull off a second consecutive upset in the GSC Women’s Basketball Tournament. But Alabama-Huntsville closed the game with a 20-7 run to end UNA’s championship dreams, collecting a 64-54 win and moving into its first GSC Championship Game Sunday against West Alabama.
Jasmine Hammon posted a double-double with game-highs in points (20) and rebounds (13). Jordan Smith, who did not score a point in the first 25 minutes, finished with 11 points and eight rebounds – including her only 3-pointer that tied the game at 47. Morgan Duncan also had 13 points for UAH (23-5).
UNA (15-13) jumped on the Lady Chargers early and often. The Lions hit five 3-pointers, led by as many as 12 points, and held UAH to 12 percent shooting in the first half to take a 27-18 lead to the locker room.
But the Lions’ defense could not sustain in the second half. The Lady Chargers shot nearly 46 percent over the final 20 minutes, with 14 points in the paint, 15 points on five 3-pointers and an 11-of-13 effort from the charity stripe. UNA struggled from the line, making just 7-of-15 for the game, and were pounded on the boards as UAH held a 51-36 advantage.
Jessi Smith (15 points), Jasmine Horne (13) and Dana Jackson (12) each scored in double figures for North Alabama.
MEN
NO. 2 CHRISTIAN BROTHERS 67, NO. 3 WEST GEORGIA 59
The Christian Brothers 1-2 punch of Zack Warner and Scott Dennis combined for 41 points, 16 rebounds and six assists to help the Buccaneers hold off West Georgia 67-59 in the opening semifinal of the GSC Men's Basketball Tournament Saturday night. The win puts the Bucs (21-6) into the finals against the winner of the West Florida-Alabama-Huntsville semifinal.
UWG (22-7) got 28 points and seven rebounds from Da'Ron Sims and 12 points from Ryan Godfrey. But after leading for most of the first half, the Wolves gave up a layup at the end of the first half to Warner that netted CBU a 31-29 halftime advantage.
A 3-point play by Gavin Field tied the game at 45 with 13 minutes remaining but it was the last time the Bucs did not have the lead. Warner went to work, scoring 16 of his 27 points in the second half. Dennis was just as solid, scoring 10 of his 14 points in the final 20 minutes as CBU shot 58 percent in the second half.
NO. 1 ALABAMA-HUNTSVILLE 87, NO. 4 WEST FLORIDA 84
Jaime Smith had a dominant performance, draining his seventh 3-pointer with 2.5 seconds left to lift Alabama-Huntsville to an 87-84 win over West Florida to advance to the GSC Men's Basketball Tournament Championship Game against Christian Brothers on Sunday at 1:30 p.m.
Smith was 9-of-12 from the field, 7-of-9 from 3-point land and 8-of-8 from the free throw line for a game-high 33 points. His game-winner was an answer to a game-tying 3-pointer by Marquis Mathis, which knotted the game at 84 and erased what was an 11-point UAH lead.
UWF's Jamar Moore, who just missed a triple-double in the opening round win over North Alabama, was at it again Saturday night. He had 29 points, 11 rebounds and six assists for the Argonauts (19-11), who shot 50 percent from the field and 90 percent from the charity stripe.
UAH (25-3) shot 59 percent in the first half, which ended on an 11-2 run that saw the Chargers go into the locker room with a 50-41 advantage. But down by eight with 5:42 remaining, Moore went to work. He would score half of UWF's next 18 points that concluded with Mathis' triple to tie the game before Smith's heroics.
Zane Campbell (18 points), Srdjan Boskovic (13) scored in double figures and Josh Magette (11 points, 13 assists, five rebounds) had a double-double for UAH. Martell Buie (16 points) and Mike Whisman (12 points, seven rebounds) were big contributors for UWF.
FRIDAY, MARCH 2 – MEN’S QUARTERFINALS
NO. 2 CHRISTIAN BROTHERS 83, NO. 7 VALDOSTA STATE 52
Christian Brothers shot 52 percent from the floor, made 13-of-24 3-pointers and got 16 points, 18 rebounds and six assists from Scott Dennis to lead the Buccaneers past Valdosta State 83-52 in the first game of the GSC Men’s Basketball Tournament.
The Bucs (22-5) – ranked No. 8 in the national poll and No. 2 in the South Region rankings – led just 38-30 at the half but opened the second half on a 17-3 run to break the game open.
While CBU was knocking down shots from all over the floor, the Blazers (11-16) shot just 29 percent in the second half. They also had an abysmal day from long range, failing to connect on any of their 14 3-point attempts.
Harry Green (13 points), Zack Warner (12), Pat Graham (12), and Cory McArthy (11) all scored in double figures for CBU, which plays the winner of the West Georgia-West Alabama game Saturday at 5:30 p.m. Will Alston (13 points, seven rebounds) and Josh Sparks (12 points, six rebounds) had strong efforts for VSU.
NO. 3 WEST GEORGIA 62, NO. 6 WEST ALABAMA 50
No. 3 seed West Georgia moved on to the Semi-Finals behind its second win over No. 6 seed West Alabama in as many weeks, 62-50.
UWA outshot UWG from the field, but the Wolves took advantage of the Tigers’ 18 turnovers, converting them into 21 points. The game was close the majority of the first half, but West Alabama went scoreless during the final 4:15, allowing West Georgia to grab a 25-14 lead at the break. UWG held a double-digit lead the entire second half, headlined by a 20-point edge with 3:41 left to play.
Wolves’ forward Da’Ron Sims netted a game-high 26 points along with seven rebounds, while guard Gavin Field added 14 points. UWA center Kyle Belcher netted 18 points, while guard Steven Samuels contributed 13.
NO. 4 WEST FLORIDA 72, NO. 5 NORTH ALABAMA 66
West Florida forward Jamar Moore nearly had his second consecutive triple-double but it was his defense that may have saved the day in a 72-66 win over North Alabama in a critical quarterfinal matchup at the GSC Men’s Basketball Tournament.
Ahead by one point with less than 30 seconds remaining, Moore blocked two point-blank shot attempts by UNA forward Theron Jenkins on consecutive possessions. That was part of a game-ending shutout by the Argonauts defense that did not allow the Lions to score for the last 4:19 of the game.
Moore finished with nine points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists for UWF (19-10), six days after getting 20 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists in the regular-season finale against Valdosta State. He missed a free throw with 12 seconds left that would have done the job.
The loss may have sealed UNA’s postseason fate. The Lions (15-12) were the eighth-ranked team in the South Region entering the GSC Tournament and needed to move up at least one spot to assure a NCAA Tournament berth. But UNA could not take advantage from the charity stripe, missing 10-of-14 free throws while UWF knocked down 17-of-21.
Beaumont Beasley was hot for the Lions early, hitting four 3-pointers and scoring 18 points in the first half. But he finished with just 19 points and seven assists as he went cold in the second half. Jenkins (11 points, 12 rebounds) and Warrick Mastin (13 points, seven rebounds) took over as the Lions erased a five-point deficit to grab a three-point advantage late.
But in a game that saw 12 ties and 15 lead changes, the Argonauts took over down the stretch with a balanced team effort. All seven players that played scored at least six points. Martell Buie scored a team-high 17 points, hitting 5-of-6 free throws in the final four minutes to secure the win.
Terrance Beasley and Anthony Sims each scored 12 points for West Florida, which will play No. 1 seed Alabama-Huntsville Saturday at 7:30 p.m.
NO. 1 ALABAMA-HUNTSVILLE 72, NO. 8 DELTA STATE 50
Jaime Smith scored 18 points and Zane Campbell added 15 points and grabbed seven rebounds as No. 3 Alabama-Huntsville easily handled Delta State 72-50 at the GSC Men’s Basketball Tournament. The win moves the Chargers (24-3) into the semifinals, where they will face West Florida. DSU’s season ends at 6-21.
The Statesmen held a one-point lead early but, for the most part, UAH was in control throughout. While the Chargers did not shoot very well in the first half (38 percent), the made 13-of-18 free throws to pad their lead. DSU struggled from the field (29 percent) and did not get nearly as many free throw attempts (1-of-4) as they trailed 35-16 at halftime.
Srdjan Boskovic knocked down one of eight UAH 3-pointers early in the second half to push the Chargers’ advantage over 20 points and the Statesmen never got any closer. In fact, UAH’s lead was as large as 27 points on four different occasions in the second half.
No one scored in double figures for Delta State, which got eight points each from Terry Leake and Caleb Miskelly.
THURSDAY, MARCH 1 - WOMEN'S QUARTERFINALS
NO. 1 DELTA STATE 56, NO. 8 CHRISTIAN BROTHERS 35
Denesha Henderson made 6-of-7 shots from the field for a team-high 15 points to pace Delta State in a 56-35 win over Christian Brothers in the opening game of the GSC Women’s Basketball Tournament on Thursday. The Lady Statesmen advance to play No. 4 West Alabama Thursday at 12:30 p.m.
CBU (5-22) held DSU (21-5) to 23 percent shooting in the first half but struggled shooting the ball as well - making just five field goals – and trailed 21-13 at the half. The Lady Statesmen then started the second half with a 14-3 run in the first four minutes to put the game out of reach.
The Lady Bucs attempted to climb back into the game closing the Lady Statesmen lead down to 11 at the 11:06 mark with a layup from Jasmine Ellis, but that is as close as Christian Brothers came in the second-half.
Veronica Walker (14 points, nine rebounds) finished just shy of a double-double performance while Brooke Rhodes chipped in 11 points connecting on 9-of-10 from the charity stripe. Ellis' 17 points led all scorers in the contest while also grabbing nine rebounds in the loss.
NO. 2 ALABAMA-HUNTSVILLE 59, NO. 7 WEST GEORGIA 57
Freshman forward Natalie Kelley grabbed a missed shot and scored with 1.9 seconds left to lift Alabama-Huntsville to a 59-57 win over West Georgia for the program’s first GSC Tournament win. The win sends the Lady Chargers to the semifinals on Saturday, where they will face North Alabama at 2:45 p.m.
UWG used an 11-1 run to end the first half and took a 31-23 lead into halftime. The Lady Chargers trailed 41-30 with just over 15 minutes to play but went on a 17-6 run over the next six minutes to knot the contest at 47. From there, it was a back-and-forth battle with the Wolves as the game was still tied with 1:30 remaining. UAH and UWG traded lay-ups within nine seconds of each other to move the score to 57-57 with 26 seconds left.
Waiting for the final shot, UAH handed the ball to sophomore guard Jasmine Hammon at the top of the key with seven seconds. Hammon's attempt ricocheted off the backboard but was caught by Kelley who tipped in the winning shot.
Mone’ Peoples led the Wolves with 14 points. Angela Davis and Breonna Mosley each had 10 points and Mosley added 10 rebounds. Also posting in double figures with a game-high 14 points was Hammon, while junior Bailee Robinson and freshman Shannon Steinert both added 11 points as well.
NO. 4 WEST ALABAMA 60, NO. 5 WEST FLORIDA 57
West Alabama wasted a 15-point lead in the second half but were able to get a couple of big baskets from Nikkia Jordan and Brittany Weathers down the stretch to hold off West Florida, 60-57. The Tigers (12-14) advance to the semifinals to face top-seeded Delta State at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday. The Argonauts’ season ends at 10-17.
Octavia Bearden was saddled with foul trouble in the first half but was nearly unstoppable over the final 20 minutes. Down 45-30, the senior would score 13 points as part of an 18-2 run, capped by a Hanna Vette 3-pointer that gave UWF a 48-47 lead with 8:33 remaining. She added another basket near the six-minute mark to give the Argos their final lead at 51-50.
UWA would score the next eight points to take a 58-51 advantage with 2:35 remaining but UWF kept fighting. The Argos cut the deficit to two points with 15 seconds remaining and had a chance to tie the game as time expired but Bearden (22 points, 16 rebounds) could not get a shot off before the horn sounded.
Jordan (16 points, five steals) and Weathers (10 points, seven rebounds) paced the Tigers while Vette (17 points) also scored in double figures for the Argonauts.
NO. 6 NORTH ALABAMA 50, NO. 3 VALDOSTA STATE 48
Senior Dana Jackson scored as time expired to lift sixth-seeded North Alabama to the first upset of the tournament, 50-48 over third-seeded Valdosta State.
Sczeny Hartry knocked down her fifth 3-pointer of the night with 22 seconds remaining to tie the game at 48. UNA (15-12) did not call time out as first Jasmine Horne attempted to drive to the basket before having her lane cut off. She lost the ball but it rolled to Jackson, who nailed the short jumper as the horn sounded to give the Lions the win. The scene was eerily similar to a game the two teams played on Feb. 19 when Hartry hit a shot with less than a second remaining for a 59-58 VSU win.
The contest was tight the entire way but when Brittany Ferguson (11 points, 11 rebounds) scored with 12:17 remaining, the Lady Blazers (20-7) held a 37-28 lead – the biggest margin for either team all night. But UNA would go on a 9-0 run over the next five minutes and after Jessi Smith made her only basket of the game – a 3-pointer – the Lions took a 40-39 advantage with 5:58 remaining and never trailed again.
Hartry scored a game-high 21 points and Maylisa Johnson had 10 points and six rebounds for VSU. Nichelle Fillmore had 11 points and four steals for UNA, which plays No. 2 Alabama-Huntsville Saturday at 2:45 p.m.