NCAA South Regional – Lakeland, FL
Great Article on Xavier Baldwin
Back to the NCAA Tournament!
The University of Alabama in Huntsville men’s basketball team has earned its fourth straight berth to the NCAA tournament as the NCAA Division II Men’s Basketball Committee announced the 64-team field for the national tournament on Sunday night. The Chargers will be the No. 2 seed in the South Region and face seventh-seeded Christian Brothers on Saturday, March 16.The Chargers earned an at-large berth to the tournament after a campaign in which the team captured a fourth straight regular season GSC title while posting a 23-5 record, and the team will travel to Lakeland, Fla., as top-seed Florida Southern will serve as the host. After the Mocs and Chargers, Eckerd captures the third seed with Saint Leo owning the No. 4 seed. Rollins is fifth, while Benedict – who captured the title of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference – is sixth. North Alabama rounds out the slate in eighth
To View the Full Bracket Click Here
WHNT Live Report From the Selection Show
The Smith Family
GSC Conference Tournament
Gulf South Conference Tournament
Birmingham, AL
March 7-10, 2013
Click Here for Tournament Homepage and Info
Gameday Central – Senior Night
UAH Clinches Fourth Straight Regular Season Title
Capturing its fourth consecutive regular season title, the No. 8 University of Alabama in Huntsville men’s basketball team defeated North Alabama 70-67 on Saturday afternoon on the road in an evenly-contested battle. The Chargers improve to 21-4 (14-3 Gulf South Conference), while UNA slips to 17-7 (10-6 GSC).The Chargers clinched at least a share of the title with the win and then was able to celebrate the title outright on the bus ride back to Huntsville when Christian Brothers fell at West Alabama. It marks just the second time in GSC history that a team has won a regular season championship four straight years as Delta State won the GSC West Division from 1994-98. Four players scored in double figures for UAH including senior Jaime Smith who led all scorers in the contest with 21 points including three 3-pointers. The Birmingham, Ala., native has been on quite a run as he has registered 85 points in the team’s last three games. Joining him in double figures were Wayne Dedrick and Ronnie Mack who both scored 16 points on the strength of four triples. As a team, the Chargers hit 12 shots on the night from beyond the arc.
North Alabama – who also had four scorers in double figures – had a strong first half and built up a 12-point advantage at the 2:48 mark of the first half, but UAH closed the period on a tear as Mack hit two of his triples and Dedrick buried one also to move the Chargers to within three at 36-33 at the half. Scoring two of his team-best 19 points to push the UNA lead out to five just out of the break was Rashaun Claiborne, but Zane Campbell made a layup fall and then Dedrick hit another pair of 3-pointers to put the Chargers on top 41-38 at the 16:28 mark of the second stanza. Campbell would finish the night 14 and a team-best seven rebounds.
(Courtesy of UAHChargers.com)
Gameday Central
4 Straight 20 Win Seasons
Overcoming a slow start, the No. 8 University of Alabama in Huntsville men’s basketball team picked up an 82-77 victory at Kelly Court at Spragins Hall on Thursday night. The victory moves the Chargers to 20-4 (13-3 Gulf South Conference), while Union slips to 6-17 (4-11 GSC).
The victory provides UAH with its fourth straight 20-win season.
Union did not make it easy, however, as the Bulldogs showed why they had knocked off North Alabama and Christian Brothers in their previous two contests. The team shot 55.2 percent from the field including 6-of-12 from 3-point land in the first half en route to building up as much as a 15-point advantage in the period.
The squad also played strong defense, limiting the Chargers to a field goal percentage of just 38.5 percent in the opening period, and the hosts held a 40-31 advantage at the halftime break.
Sparking the team’s comeback, Wayne Dedrick hit a big 3-pointer out of the break, and the team converted the momentum generated by the triple into a 17-5 run. Jaime Smith was especially torrid during the stretch as he scored 12 points – including a shot from downtown at the 16:19 mark that generated a 48-45 advantage for the hosts.
Smith turned in his second consecutive 30-point game as he finished with 31 on Thursday night, and he broke the school record for free throws in a game as he hit 16 in the contest to surpass the mark that was set by his older brother Joe Smith on Dec. 18, 2000.
Behind Smith’s and Dedrick’s strong showings in the period, the Chargers wound up shooting 62.5 percent from the field and 9-for-17 from beyond the arc in the second half, and though the contest would be tied on three occasions, UAH would never trail again after the team took the lead on Smith’s shot.
Dedrick scored 12 of his 17 points in the half, hitting three of the team’s treys, while Zane Campbell and Ronnie Mack also finished the night in double figures with 14. Union – who was led by Anthony Freeman’s 15 points – concluded the night shooting 50.8 percent to edge out the Chargers who notched a 50.0 percent performance, and the Bulldogs also owned a 33-25 advantage on the glass.
Gameday Central
Team Camp Dates Announced
2013 Team Camp
Click Here to Download a Brochure
We sincerely appreciate your interest in our team camp. We have worked really hard to try and make this a first class event for your team. I have attached the camp brochure to this post, please let us know if you have any questions.
Chargers Find a Way!
Jaime Smith scored with 12 seconds left, punctuating a huge day for the senior as the No. 7 University of Alabama in Huntsville men’s basketball team captured a thrilling 73-71 road victory at Delta State on Saturday. The win moves the Chargers to 19-4 (12-3 Gulf South Conference), while DSU falls to 9-13 (5-9 GSC). With fellow senior Xavier Baldwin not in the lineup, Smith and classmate Zane Campbell teamed up for 53 points to guide the Chargers to the victory, propelling the team back into sole possession of first place as North Alabama lost to Union 101-99 in overtime on Saturday. The game was nip-and-tuck throughout as neither team was able to lead by double digits, and it was the Chargers who enjoyed the first advantage of the day. Smith scored 17 of his points in the first half, helping UAH lead through much of the stanza but never by anymore than four points as Delta State eventually pulled ahead near the five-minute mark and remained in front until the half expired as the Statesmen led 33-32 at the break. The DSU advantage was 41-38 just under three minutes into the second half, but a Wayne Dedrick triple followed up by a pair of freebies from Smith and two shots at the charity stripe from Dedrick put the Chargers ahead 45-41 at the 14:44 mark of the period. Smith was a stellar 13-for-13 from the free throw line on the night which marks the second-best perfect performance in program history as both Ben Mitchell and Will Gardner recorded 14-for-14 showings at the line. The Statesmen – who were paced on the day Cornell Knight’s 17 points – eventually went back in front and enjoyed its largest lead of the night at 59-50 with 8:38 remaining in the game.
With the Chargers pulling to within two on three occasions down the stretch, Delta State answered each time until the game rolled under two minutes left on the clock and Smith buried a triple to make it 69-68 in favor of the hosts at the 1:47 mark. Knight would hit a layup on the following possession, but Campbell took a pass from Smith and knocked down a shot from beyond the arc with 1:11 remaining to tie the contest, and after Ronnie Mack grabbed a defensive rebound, Smith made the game-winning layup fall to give UAH the win.
Smith finished with 33 and six assists while Campbell scored 20, and joining the pair in double figures was Dedrick who chipped in with 13. The Chargers shot 50.0 percent for the game and protected the ball exceptionally well, turning it over just six times in the affair. Delta State connected on 52.8 percent of its attempts and outrebounded UAH by a 30-22 margin. (Courtesy of UAHChargers.com)
Gameday Central
Chargers Move up to #7 in the NABC Poll
Moving up for the third consecutive week, the University of Alabama in Huntsville men’s basketball team moved to the No. 7 position in this week’s installment of the NABC/Division II Coaches Poll.
The top four remain the same in this week’s poll with Metro State and Western Washington holding down the first two spots. In third is West Liberty, Cal Poly Pomona is fourth, and Seattle Pacific moved into the top-five at No. 5.Florida Southern begins the next five as the Mocs are in sixth one place ahead of the Chargers. Falling to No. 8 is Minnesota State, while East Stroudsburg and Saint Anselm round out the top 10 in ninth and tenth, respectively. Saint Leo soared back into the rankings after 13 of last week’s top 25 lost games, jumping all the way to No. 16, while North Alabama remained at No. 24 despite its lopsided loss to Christian Brothers. (Courtesy of UAHchargers.com)
Summer Camp Dates Announced
Win #18
Zane Campbell scored a career-best 32 points and the No. 9 University of Alabama in Huntsville men’s basketball team rolled to an 86-70 victory over visiting West Florida on Saturday night at Kelly Court at Spragins Hall. The Chargers improve to 18-3 (11-2 Gulf South Conference) with the victory while UWF falls to 10-11 (5-8 GSC). Campbell scored 20 of his points in a terrific first half for the senior whose previous career best was 30 points in a game at Lambuth on Jan. 27, 2011. The West Limestone, Ala., native was 14-for-18 from the field including three shots from beyond the arc as he helped the Chargers hit 10 3-pointers in the game. Electrifying the crowd and providing his team with an immediate spark, Campbell scored the first points of the game on a thunderous dunk just 10 seconds into the contest off a fantastic pass from Jaime Smith – one of nine assists the fellow senior would record on the night. The nine helpers for Smith match his career-best number in the category.
Behind Campbell’s strong showing and a 56.7 percent shooting performance, the Chargers built up as much as a 17-point advantage in the first half before taking a 43-30 lead into the locker room break at the half.
Boosted by eight straight points – including two triples – by Ronnie Mack to start the second half, the hosts built up a 51-32 lead less than two minutes into the period, but West Florida would not let its deficit grow any larger, and a 9-0 run for the Argos over a span of two minutes pulled the guests to within six at 72-66 with 4:04 remaining in the contest.
UAH countered with six points in less than a minute to push the lead back to 78-66, and the Chargers would limit the Argos to just a pair of baskets in the final minutes to produce the 86-70 victory. Almost single-handedly keeping his team in the contest, Ellis Young led all scorers in the contest with 33 points. On the UAH side, Smith and Mack joined Campbell in double figures with 15 and 12 points, respectively, as nine Chargers recorded points in the contest, and the hosts registered a strong shooting mark of 54.4 percent for the game.
West Florida connected on 43.3 percent of its shots and dominated the battle on the glass with 46 rebounds compared to 25 for UAH. (Courtesy of UAHChargers.com)
