JACKSON, Tenn. - The Union University men's basketball team topped Christian Brothers University 73-65 Saturday afternoon at Fred DeLay Gymnasium/David Blackstock Court. Union improved to 9-1 on the season and 3-0 in the Gulf South Conference. Christian Brothers dropped to 2-5 overall and 1-2 in league play.

Union is ranked No. 21 in the NABC Coaches' Poll and No. 15 in the D2SIDA Media Poll. 

Union started hot, jumping out to a 10-0 lead following a basket from Jeremiah Littlepage with 15:10 left in the half. CBU went scoreless until a free throw made it 10-1 at the 14:46 mark. CBU did not hit its first field goal until a layup at the 14:16 mark. Union's largest lead of the half came following an ally-oop by Boe Nguidjol, assisted by Justin Debuck, 27-12, with 6:50 left. Union held a 14-point lead, 36-22 at the break. 

Union shot 56 percent from the field and 50 percent (6-12) from 3-point range in the first half. Union did not shoot a free throw in the first half.

Christian Brothers quickly cut the deficit to eight points after starting the second half with a 6-0 run. Union answered with a 7-0 run, including five-point from Boykin to match its largest lead of the night at 15 points, 43-28. 

After a 45-30 lead for Union with 13:45 left, CBU once again made a push. The Bucs stormed back, erasing Union's lead following a 16-1 run, tying the game at 46-46. Union finally ended the seven-minute field goal drought with a layup from Nguidjol. Nguidjol continued his personal run with a 3-pointer, followed by a layup from Hunter Vick and Union was back on top, 53-46, with 7:44 left. 

Union slowly extended its lead to nine points, 62-53, with 4:51 left. CBU, again, cut it down to four on back-to-back trips with baskets, including a desperation 3-pointer as the shot clock was expiring. Nguidjol, as he had done numerous times prior, stopped a CBU rally with a basket, his 16th point of the night. Neither team scored over the next minute-plus and a 3-pointer Tyree Boykin gave Union a 67-58 lead with 1:32 left. Union got a layup from Tylandrius Parks and hit 4-of-4 free throws in the final 41 seconds to seal the 73-65 win.

Union was led by Boykin with 28 points and was 6-of-7 from 3-point range. Nguidjol finished with 16 points, while Debuck added 12 points. Nguidjol and Littlepage led with eight rebounds each. Union shot 49 percent from the field, 50 percent (10-20) from long range, and 15-17 from the free throw line. 

Christian Brothers was led by Jones with 21 points and Deifel with 13 points. The Bucs shot 46 percent from the field, 47 percent (7-15) from 3-point range, and 73 percent (8-11) from the free throw line.  

Up next for Union will be its first GSC road games of the year. Union travels to Mississippi College Saturday, December 18 at 4 p.m. and then Delta State Monday, December 20 at 7:30 p.m. Listen locally on 101.5 FM or online at www.uuathletics.com/coverage. 

-UNION-