At 7 p.m. on Feb. 15, the Union University men’s basketball team lost a closely contested game against conference opponents Auburn Montgomery 78-79 in the Fred DeLay Gymnasium. The loss moved the Bulldogs to 8-11 in conference play and 11-12 overall — a harsh blow to a team currently chasing a spot in this year’s Gulf South Conference (GSC) tournament.
Auburn Montgomery drew first blood as the Warhawks scored on their opening possession after winning the tipoff. It was the Bulldogs, however, who controlled much of the first half, storming into the lead and finishing the half ahead by five points despite a late Warhawk resurgence.
In the second half, the Bulldogs extended their lead to double digits at one point, but a late comeback by the Warhawks saw the game come down to the wire. With the score at 78-77, Auburn Montgomery junior Jalil Robinson scored with only 0.3 seconds left on the clock to win the game for the Warhawks.
The Bulldogs were led by a double-double from senior sports management major Jeremiah Littlepage (16 points, 11 rebounds) and a 25-point performance from junior sports medicine major Ahmad Johnson.
Parker Applegate, a freshman sports management major and the team leader in rebounds this season, shared Coach Niven’s message to the players after the game.
“Right after the game (Coach) Niven told us to have a short-term memory,” Applegate said. “He said this’ll either define you and the season or y’all just pack up and go home and not have a good rest of the season. He gave us two options and we need to bounce back.”
The loss comes as a harsh blow to the Bulldogs, making their path to the GSC Tournament an uphill battle.
“Just to get into the conference tournament,” Applegate said. “Because once there, anything can happen. We gotta win four out of our last five at least and we play three really good teams.”
Earning a GSC tournament berth is already a good motivator, but that is not the Bulldogs’ only reason to finish strong.
“Five more games left, so we’re trying to win them all for sure,” Applegate said. “Because we’re 11-12 right now, and that’s not the standard here.”
Already, the Bulldogs have taken a step in the right direction, as they beat fellow tournament hopefuls the Montevallo Falcons 81-66 on Feb. 17 in the Fred DeLay Gymnasium. Freshman business major Jordan Pyke earned a double-double (15 points, 10 rebounds) against the Falcons.
“We’re our own biggest opponent. We beat ourselves most of the time we lose,” Pyke said after the game. “Like it’s only because like we’re not like playing to the standard that we feel like we should be playing at.”
Pyke explained the turnaround at halftime of the Montevallo game. Going into the half down two points, the captains gave the team a message and challenged them to step up. The Bulldogs went on to outscore the Falcons by 17 points in the second half.
“I would say we just have to kind of trust each other and in everything we’ve worked so hard to accomplish,” Pyke said looking forward at a possible GSC tournament appearance. “Our problem is never like ‘Oh we’re playing somebody that’s too good for us.’ It’s more like we have to play like our game and play up to our standard. And you know, all nights that we don’t do that we lose to teams that aren’t nearly as talented as us. And all nights that we do that, we beat teams that are highly ranked.”
The Union Bulldogs play away at Alabama-Huntsville on Feb. 22 and at West Alabama on Feb. 24 before returning to the Fred DeLay Gymnasium on Feb. 29 to face rival Lee University at 7:30 p.m.
