HUNTSVILLE, Ala.-On a night where both teams knocked down 13 three-pointers, host Alabama-Huntsville held off the Christian Brothers University Bucs 86-78 Thursday night to remain in a tie for first place in the Gulf South Conference standings.

After the teams traded baskets for the first 10 minutes, the Chargers (19-7, 14-6) knocked down three straight triples as part of an 11-2 run that gave them a 26-18 lead on a Justin Ward three with 8:18 remaining in the first half. The Bucs (14-10, 11-9) answered with a 13-1 run to regain the lead at 31-27 on a Charlie Oswald (Memphis, Tenn./Christian Brothers HS) three-pointer with 4:14 remaining in the half.

UAH used a 10-0 run bridging the halftime break to regain the lead, 43-38 on a Ronnie Mack three-pointer with 18:10 remaining, but neither team would lead by more than four points again over the next eight minutes. The Chargers provided the 16th and final lead change of the game when they used a 7-0 burst to take a 63-57 lead on a Preston Herring free throw with 9:17 remaining. Over the final nine minutes, the Bucs were never able to trim the UAH lead below three points, with UAH never leading by more than the final margin of eight.

Oswald led the Bucs with a career-high 25 points, making 7-of-10 three-pointers, also a career-high. Trey Casey (Cincinnati, Ohio/La Salle HS) scored 20, and Jeff Larkin (Cincinnati, Ohio/La Salle HS) tacked on 14. Sidy Sall (Dakar, Senegal/Seeds Academy) grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds to go with seven points, while Ryan Fleming (Cincinnati, Ohio/La Salle HS) narrowly missed a triple-double with 12 points, 11 assists and nine rebounds with no turnovers.

Greg Gardner paced the Chargers with 26, making 6-of-7 three-pointers, while Troy Saxton scored 20. Mack and Ward scored 12 each.

The Chargers shot 55.8 percent (29-of-52) overall to the Bucs' 50.9 percent (27-of-53), and UAH shot 56.5 percent (13-of-23) from three-point range, while the Bucs were 48.1 percent (13-of-27). The Bucs out-rebounded UAH 30-26, including a 9-5 lead in offensive rebounds, but the Bucs committed nine turnovers while forcing six from UAH.

Despite the loss, the Bucs remain just one game out of fourth place in the GSC with two games remaining. UAH and West Alabama are tied for first at 14-6, followed by West Georgia in third place at 13-7. Union and Shorter are tied for fourth at 12-8, followed by CBU and Delta State in a tie for sixth place at 11-9.

The Bucs wrap up the regular season with a pair of home games. They host North Alabama Saturday afternoon at 4 p.m. for Senior Day, with the regular season finale set for Thursday night at 7 p.m. against Union.

The GSC tournament starts Tuesday, March 3, when the top four seeds host quarterfinal games. The semifinals and final will be played at the Pete Hanna Center at Samford University in Homewood, Ala., with the semis set for Friday, March 6 and the championship game Saturday, March 7.