HUNTSVILLE, Ala. – The NCAA Division II 12
th-ranked University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) Chargers used a 2
nd half surge to fight past the Spring Hill College (SHC) men's basketball team in a frenzied 75-55 non-conference victory at the opening game of the 2019 Rocket City Classic in the Von Braun Center on Saturday afternoon.
Spring Hill used quick hands on defense to grab an early 18-15 lead over the Chargers (10-2) with 8:40 left in the 1
st half, but UAH rallied to take back a 25-22 edge with 4:30 on the clock. Senior SHC guard
Dwight Harris of Americus, Ga. tied the game with a 3-pointer then senior forward
Chase Shellman of Louisville, Ky. found an inside layup to hand the Badgers a 29-27 advantage with 2:56 showing.
A trey by UAH put the Chargers back up 30-29 at the 2-minute mark, but SHC came down with an offensive rebound by sophomore forward
Brent Smith from St. Louis, Mo. that led to a long jumper by Harris to stake the Badgers to a 31-30 lead with 19 seconds before the break. A solid Badger defensive effort over the half's final 19 seconds stifled any shot attempt by UAH as SHC carried the 1-point margin into the intermission.
The Chargers came out focused to start the 2
nd half and fought out to a 35-31 lead 3 minutes into the action. SHC fell behind 46-39 by the 12-minute media timeout and 58-41 by the 9-minute mark, but senior Badger guard
Pat McNamara of Arlington Heights, Ill. kept the Badgers close at 58-44 with a 3-pointer at 8:44.
The teams would trade four consecutive missed 3-point attempts over the next minute-and-a-half of play, but SHC fought back to within 11 points at 4:09 before UAH found another gear late in the game to stretch out a 68-52 bulge with 2 minutes to play.
Junior guard
Ron Rice of Harlem, N.Y. quietly scored 13 points to lead the Badgers while sophomore guard
Christian Brandt from Auburn, Ala. added 11 and Shellman contributed 10 points before both players fouled out late in the game.
As a team, SHC shot 36.4% (20-55) from the field and 21.7% (5-23) from 3-point range. The Badgers lost 18 turnovers against eight steals by the Chargers while being edged 39-40 in rebounding, but still took a respectable 12-3 advantage in second-chance scoring. Spring Hill struggled to just 66.7% (10-15) in their free throw shooting.
UAH's Max Shulman put a game-high 19 points on the score sheet while Malik Cook-Stoupe came on late to add 13 points. Guards Seth Swalve and David Anderson contributed 12 points each. The Chargers shot 39.7% (25-63) overall and heaved in 31.7% (13-41) from 3-point distance while committing 11 turnovers to eight steals by the Badgers. The Chargers sank 80% (12-15) of their free throw attempts.
Having completed the 2019 portion of their schedule, the Badgers (2-10, 1-3 SIAC West) will enjoy a two-week break for the holidays before returning to home action on Saturday, January 4, 2020 versus Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) opponent the Paine College Lions (1-9, 1-4 SIAC East) at 4 p.m. in the Arthur R. Outlaw Recreation Center.
