MEMPHIS-Visiting Union shot 12-of-23 from three-point range as they claimed a 72-65 win over the Christian Brothers University Bucs Thursday night to earn the No. 5 seed in next week's Gulf South Conference Tournament.

The Bucs (15-11, 12-10 GSC) threatened to pull away early, using a 5-0 burst and a 6-0 burst to open up an 18-8 lead with 12:32 remaining in the half when Trey Casey (Cincinnati, Ohio/La Salle HS) scored three straight baskets, but the Bulldogs (19-9, 13-9) steadily cut into the lead, with three lead changes in the final minutes of the first half.

The Bucs scored the first three points of the second half to take a 37-35 lead on a Sidy Sall (Dakar, Senegal/Seeds Academy) free throw with 19:19 remaining in the game, but Union answered with a 14-3 run to take their largest lead of the night at 49-40 on a Corieon Pearson three-pointer with 14:08 to play. The Bucs used a 9-3 burst midway through the half to pull within 56-54 on a Casey triple with 8:04 remaining, but they could never come closer in the final eight minutes.

Casey scored a game-high 21 points with six assists to lead the Bucs, and Ryan Fleming (Cincinnati, Ohio/La Salle HS) scored 13 with eight rebounds and four assists. Sall scored 10 with eight rebounds, and Charlie Oswald (Memphis, Tenn./Christian Brothers HS) added 10.

Marterrace Brock led the Bulldogs with 20 points, and Pearson scored 17 with seven assists. Roy Bullock added 12.

Both teams shot well from the floor, with the Bucs shooting 52.2 percent (24-of-46) to the Bulldogs' 52.1 percent (25-of-48). Union shot 52.2 percent (12-of-23) from deep, however, while the Bucs were just 38.9 percent (7-of-18). The Bucs out-rebounded Union 29-20, including an 8-3 edge in offensive boards, but they committed 16 turnovers to Union's nine.

With tonight's loss and Delta State's 71-70 win over Mississippi College, the Bucs head to the GSC Tournament as the No. 7 seed. CBU will visit No. 2 seed West Georgia Tuesday night in the quarterfinals of the GSC Tournament. The winner will advance to Homewood, Ala., for Friday's semifinals against the winner of the quarterfinal between No. 3 seed West ALabama and No. 6 seed Delta State. On the other side of the bracket, top-seeded Alabama-Huntsville will face No. 8 seed North Alabama, while No. 4 seed Shorter will host No. 5 seed Union. The championship game is set for Saturday afternoon.