Box Score
JACKSON, Tenn. – The Union University men's basketball posted a dramatic 101-99 overtime victory over NCAA DII No. 24 University of North Alabama Saturday afternoon at Fred DeLay Gymnasium. Union improved to 6-16 on the season and 4-10 in the Gulf South Conference. North Alabama dropped to 17-5 overall and 10-4 in league play.
The upset win over North Alabama, a team tied for the top spot in the league entering the game, was the third straight home victory for a quickly improving Union team. Union has won two straight games for the first time this season, and three of their last six games. Both of their last two wins have come over teams in the top-3 of the Gulf South Conference Standings (Christian Brothers, 73-70, last Saturday)
Union put four players in double figures, including two in the 20's. However, the heroics this game were produced by sophomore guard
Pedro Faller, who scored five is his total seven points at the most opportune times.
Faller's 3-pointer in the final seconds of regulation tied the game for Union, 86-86. A last second 3-point attempt from North Alabama missed, sending the game to overtime.
Faller struck again late in overtime. With Union trailing 99-98 and 26 seconds left on the clock, the Bulldogs looked to get the final shot for the win. Faller miss-fired on a jumper, but scrambled to get his own rebound. His floater put-back in the lane with seven seconds left gave Union the 100-99 lead. Union's
Corieon Pearson promptly stole the inbounds pass and was fouled. He made 1-of-2 free throws to put Union up 101-99. North Alabama failed to get a final shot off in the final three seconds of play.
The first half was back and forth early, featuring eight ties and two lead changes. Union took a 23-22 lead at the 8:38 mark and maintained a lead for the rest of the half. Union led by as many as six points twice in the half, before taking a 46-42 lead into the locker room.
In the second half, Union was able to hold a slim advantage until North Alabama tied the game, 63-63 at the 12:35 mark. The teams went back and forth again over the next five minutes. Then, North Alabama was able to match their largest lead of the game, 78-74, with 3:54 left. Union trailed by four points twice in the final four minutes of regulation, both times answering with 3-pointers, to stay in the game. With 10 seconds left in the game, a pair of free throws from North Alabama's Rashaun Claiborne put his team up 86-83, setting up Faller's game-tying 3-pointer at the end of regulation.
In overtime, Union scored first, but quickly fell down by four points again, 96-92 and again, 99-95. But once again, Union answered the 4-point deficit with 3-pointers on the other end. Both teams made 3-pointers on a combined four straight possessions. Union's answering 3-pointers came first from Dani Marti, who scored 23 points including 6-of-8 from long range. The second came from
Roy Bullock, who finished with 22 points, including 4-of-6 from 3-point range. With the Lions clinging to a 99-98 lead, Union forced a turnover setting up Faller again for his game winning offensive board and put-back.
The game featured 13 ties and 12 lead changes with both teams shooting well from the field. North Alabama dominated the glass, outrebounding Union 43-27, including 15-7 on the offensive boards. However, Union shot 54 percent from the field, including 62 percent in overtime. The Bulldogs also made 13-of-24 3-pointers for 54 percent in the game. Both teams were 2-of-3 from long range in the overtime period. North Alabama was 47 percent from 3-point range in the game, including 71 percent (5-7) in the second half. The Lions shot 52 percent from the field in the game.
Union was led by Marti's 23 points, followed closely by Bullock's 22 points.
Anthony Freeman added 19 points, while Pearson scored 13 points and dished out eight assists.. Eric Liesey added nine points, all in the first half, while
AJ Roberts scored eight points. Faller added a basket in the first half to go along with his five dramatic points late in the game to give him seven for the game. Union shot 78 percent (14-18) from the free throw line.
North Alabama was led by Marquel Darrington with a game-high 26 points. DeAndre Hersey added a double-double with 22 points and 10 rebounds. Bruce Adams scored 19 points, and Nathan Spehr added 13 points. The Lions shot 71 percent (20-28) from the free throw line.
Up next for Union will be a road conference game at No. 7 Alabama-Huntsville, Thursday, February 21 at 7:30 p.m.
#UNION#
