LIVINGSTON, Ala.-The nation's No. 2 scorer, Charles Eaton, scored 31 points to lead host West Alabama handed the No. 22/NR Christian Brothers University Bucs an 86-67 loss Saturday afternoon.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
• The Tigers (14-5, 8-3 GSC) opened the game with a 6-0 run and never trailed.
• After the Bucs (13-6, 5-6) closed within 10-9 on a
Joe Laravie (Kettering, Ohio/Alter HS) triple with 13:40 remaining in the first half, UWA answered with a 9-0 burst capped by a Josh Fleming jumper that gave them a 19-9 lead with 11:44 remaining in the half, a lead they would later extend to as many as 11.
• CBU used a 14-4 burst to tie the game at 34 on an
Adam Dieball (Cincinnati, Ohio/Lakota East HS) three-pointer with 3:04 remaining in the opening half.
• The Tigers pulled away with a 17-2 run bridging the halftime break, taking a 54-38 lead when Fleming capped the run with a pair of free throws with 16:57 remaining.
• The Bucs whittled the UWA lead back to nine with an 11-4 burst, cutting the deficit to 67-58 on a Dieball layup with 8:11 remaining.
• UWA answered with a 6-0 burst, capped by a pair of Fleming free throws to extend their lead to 75-59 with 4:17 remaining, and they never allowed CBU closer than 12 in the final minutes.
KEY STATS:
• Dieball scored 25 points with five assists and four rebounds. He shot 9-of-17 overall, including 6-of-11 from three-point range.
• Laravie scored 14 points in 33 minutes.
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Jeff Larkin (Cincinnati, Ohio/La Salle HS) added 12 with five rebounds, three assists and two steals.
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Cody Garbuzinski (Memphis, Tenn./Christian Brothers HS) scored nine with three rebounds in 28 minutes.
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Brad Miller (Cincinnati, Ohio/Elder HS) dished out a game-high six assists with no turnovers in 20 minutes off the bench.
• The Bucs shot 41.4 percent (24-of-57) from the floor, including 32.3 percent (10-of-31) from three-point range. UWA finished 49.3 percent (33-of-67) overall, including 33.3 percent (7-of-21) from beyond the arc.
• The Tigers out-rebounded CBU 43-30, including a 13-7 edge in offensive boards. The Bucs committed 11 turnovers while forcing eight from UWA.
WHAT'S NEXT:
The Bucs wrap up the regular season with six of the last nine games at home, including the next four, beginning Thursday night at 7 p.m. when they host Lee.
