PULASKI, Tenn. – The University of Tennessee Southern men's basketball team stepped back into Southern States Athletic Conference play with a come from behind win over Blue Mountain Christian 67-62 on Saturday. UTS used a big final 10 minutes to deny the Toppers their first SSAC win of the year.
Four Firehawks marked the scorebook in double figures. Zaiden Cross led all scorers with 21 points and four blocks. Vito Vujovic added 12 points and eight rebounds. Mark Vance tossed in 11 points and eight rebounds. Mike Bell, Jr. contributed 10 points
UT Southern took the opening lead after an 11-2 run in the opening six minutes. The run consisted of trifectas from Bell, Jr. and Vujovic, free throws from Vance and Cross, and a layup from Vujovic. Blue Mountain Christian battled back over the next three minutes to trail by three. Two timely long-range shots from Koby Issac kept the Firehawks in lead with the Toppers closing in. With four minutes left in the half, BMCU hit three free throws to knot the game at 21. In the waning second of the half, the Toppers connected on a triple at the buzzer to take their first lead at 28-26. UTS shot 6-27 (22%) from the field, including four shots from range. Bell, Jr. led UTS with seven first half points and five rebounds. Koby Isaac added six from two big triples.
The Firehawks fell behind in the final half from a BMCU 13-5 run in the opening five minutes. The Firehawks began to chip away at the Topper lead pulling to within four with 11 minutes, but BMCU pushed the advantage back to nine twice in the over the next two minutes. After a Firehawk time out with 8:42 left in the game, UTS put together a put a 6-0 run to trail 52-51 with seven minutes remaining. UTS continued to press the Toppers and trailed 59-55 with four minutes left. UTS put together some big time plays and ended the game with a 12-3 run to win their second in a game this week in comeback fashion.
BY THE NUMBERS
40.2 – UTS improved their shooting from the first half making 21 of 52 for 40.4 percent, out shooting the Toppers' 23-64 (35.9%).
16 – UTS connected on 16 of 20 free throws, out shooting the Toppers from the line 80 to 69 percent.
37 – The Firehawks pulled down 37 rebounds in the game, seven more than BMCU
16 – UT Southern had 16 assists, Cross contributed five of them.
11 – UTS committed 11 turnovers, two more than the Toppers
NEXT UP
The Firehawks will travel to Dalton, Ga., to race the Roadrunners of Dalton State on Monday, January 6. Tipoff is set for 6:30 p.m.
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