On Saturday, the University of North Alabama Men’s basketball team suffered a second-half meltdown that led to a 77-74 home loss against West Georgia. The Lions went 1-4 from the free throw line in the second half with less than a minute remaining. After being up by as much as 12 at the half, the Lions’ defense and intensity seemed to reduce in the second half. The Lions opened the game with eight turnovers by West Georgia. The turnovers led to a huge momentum swing for the Lions, along with a thunderous dunk from forward Marcus Landry in the opening four minutes of the game.

Rickey Davison in the first half displayed lights-out shooting ability along with guard Beaumont Beasley. Warrick Mastin played a huge role in the Lions’ first half success with 13 points in the first half off the bench. The Lions led 46-34 at halftime. After the half, West Georgia relied on the skills of guard Justin Cummings who had a game high of 21 points. The Lions only attempted nine free throws the entire game and West Georgia went 20-30 from the stripe.

In the final 3:30 of the game, the Lions and West Georgia traded baskets back and forth to maintain the lead. Davison’s shot with 3:03 remaining gave the Lions their final lead of the night with a 71-70 lead. With under 30 seconds remaining, Landry and Beasley had opportunities to take the lead with free throws, but Beasley only made one between the both of them going 1 for 4. The Lions hope to rebound this week with a road GSC matchup against West Alabama at 4.p.m.