Victory sweep

Senior forward Deandre Hersey puts a shot over the Chargers’ Conner Blasi during the Jan. 19 game at Spragins Hall in Huntsville.

The UNA men’s and women’s basketball teams had a successful night at Spragins Hall in Huntsville Jan. 19, sweeping the UAH Chargers.

The women broke a two-game losing streak with their 81-69 win, with three players reaching double digits in scoring. With the win, the women have reclaimed the No. 1 spot in Gulf South Conference standings.

“We just had a lot of energy — at our walk-through (the morning of the game) the team was really focused,” said head coach Terry Fowler. “So I had a good feeling that we were gonna come out and play well, and all we really did was play well.”

The game was a close one, with neither team leading by more than five points until the final minute of play. A 22-6 run by the Lions resulted in the final score.

The Lions, who have struggled to play well through the whole 40 minutes of games, did a good job of playing a full game.

“I think the big thing is, we’ve been a good second-half team,” Fowler said. “We just kept digging ourselves a hole and we didn’t do that tonight.”

Fowler also said he felt the team responded better to pressure than they had in the last two games.

“I thought we handled the pressure so we were able to get five people under the basket and make some good shots,” he said.

Fowler said the win was a “total team effort” — with Kaseama Ashbourne, Joidon Jennings and Delisa Madry coming off the bench to contribute to the win.

“The starters kind of did what they do, but the bench really helped us tonight,” he said.

All in all, Fowler said he felt like the Lions were the better team down the stretch.

“We finish games — so we know how to play tough down the stretch, and I just thought we were the tougher team down the stretch,” he said.

The men bounced back from the Jan. 17 loss to Shorter to defeat the Chargers 81-71.

With 1:05 left in the game, UNA fans were on their feet cheering, while Chargers fans were leaving the stands.

This was a very different atmosphere from the beginning of the game, when the Lions came out cold, letting the Chargers score nine points before ever getting on the board. By the time 11 minutes of play had elapsed, the Lions trailed by 17 points (30-13).

“At the start … there was no doubt in their mind, it looked like, that they were getting ready to run us out of the gym,” said head coach Bobby Champagne.

As the first half went on, the Lions started to warm up, closing the gap to losing by six points (42-36) at the half.

Champagne said he didn’t say anything during half-time to make the men play better in the second half but that the players seemed to have decided they could win the game.

In the second half, the Lions kept up with the Chargers’ scoring from the start. Then, with 13:13 left in the game, the team started to close the gap with three back-to-back field goals that put the Lions within five points of the Chargers (54-49).

The two teams continued to go toe-to-toe until the Lions were finally able to gain a one-point lead, thanks to a lay-up by Jere Vucica with 8:30 left in the game (60-61).

“I think when we finally took that lead we really, really believed we could win the game and maybe put a little bit of doubt in their mind,” Champagne said.

Once the Lions took the lead, the team didn’t trail again. Also, the last time he Chargers were able to score was when 3:46 remained in the game.

A pair of free throws made by Marquel Darrington put the Lions up 81-71 with 1:21 left to play, which would be the final score.

As the Lions left Spragins Hall, a crowd of excited UNA fans clapped and cheered for them.

“For some reason (the fans) seem a little bit louder here than they do in Flowers Hall,” Champagne said. “Hopefully that carries in to next Saturday when we play West Alabama.”