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LIVINGSTON, Ala.
– With a chance to earn a spot in the Gulf South
Conference Tournament for the second-straight year, the
University of West Alabama men’s basketball team will
battle Montevallo on Saturday for one of the last spots
in the field. Tip off is set for 7:30 p.m. at UM’s
BankTrust Arena. The game will be aired on WZNJ 106.5
FM following the women’s tilt. Live stats will be
available at athletics.uwa.edu.
The Tigers (12-14,
4-7 GSC) remained in contention for a tournament berth
with a 13-point, 81-68, win over West Florida in the
home finale last Saturday. UWA looks for the season
series sweep after grounding the Falcons, 70-58, on Jan.
29 at Pruitt Hall. The Tigers, who led from the opening
tip, jumped out to a 17-0 lead over UM and cruised past
the Purple and Gold for their second win in the last three
outings over their in-state rival. The Red and White
claimed last season’s battle on the UM campus with a
73-62 win on the Falcons’ home floor. A season sweep by
UWA would be its first since the 2002-03 season. The
Tigers will also be shooting for their fifth conference
win of the season, the most since 2004-05.
If the Tigers can
get by the Falcons on their home court, UWA will be
competing in the league’s post season event for the
first time since the 1997-98 edition of the annual
event. The 1997-98 tournament was held on the campus of
Delta State, with UWA falling in the opening game,
67-65, to West Florida. The Tigers have made 10
appearances in the tournament and hold a 6-9 mark in
the event. The 2009 GSC Tournament will commence on
Wednesday, March 4, at the Desoto Civic Center in
Southaven, Miss. Valdosta State, North Alabama and UAH
have secured spots from the GSC East Division.
All-GSC candidate Jason Swanson leads
the Tigers’ offensive charge, averaging 15.3 points per
contest along with posting 8.0 rebounds per game. The
Troy, Ala.-forward has scored in double digits in 18
straight games along with nine double doubles on the
season. Swanson bumped his season average over 15
points last week with a 27-point performance at VSU and
a 17-point outing against UWF. While Swanson manned the
paint in the past two games, junior guard Chris Davis
had the hot outside shooting touch, connecting on
9-of-13 from behind the three-point stripe in the pair
of games. The Birmingham, Ala.-sharp shooter carded 15
of his season-best 21 points from beyond the arc in the
UWF affair. Against VSU, he tipped in the game-tying
basket in the first overtime session to send the game
into a second extra period.
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