Tillman pushes UWA men to win

LIVINGSTON – Lleon Tillman scored a career-high 15 points and 11 total rebounds to lead West Alabama to a 75-52 victory over Christian Brothers in Gulf South Conference basketball action Saturday at Pruitt Hall.

The win improved UWA to 5-4 overall and 2-1 in GSC play. Christian Brothers dropped to 4-5 and 0-3.

“We had a complete team effort tonight,” UWA head coach Mark Downey said. “We were focused, we took good shots and we attacked every defense they threw at us. We met all of our goals: we had less than 12 turnovers, we out rebounded them and held them to 39 percent shooting. If we keep meeting those goals we will win a lot of basketball games.”

Tillman finished 7-of-14 field goal attempts and eight defensive rebounds on the way to setting his first double-double.

“We have been waiting for Lleon to come alive, and he did just that tonight,” said Downey. “He is pretty special when he gets into open space. He can really fly. He’s just a versatile player and we are glad he is with us now.”

Three more Tigers also posted double digit scoring marks. Jarrell Byrd followed Tillman with 14 points, Sandy Underwood tallied 12 and Desmond Raymond with 11.

UWA never trailed in the game, extending an eight point halftime lead with a 43-29 point run in the final 20 minutes. The Tigers finished 30-of-63 (47.6 percent) from the field, while holding the Buccaneers to a season low of 21-of-54 (38.9 percent).

Ryan Fleming and Trey Casey led CBU in scoring with 15 points each. Sidy Sell followed with 14.

West Alabama will now receive two weeks off for Christmas break, but will return to open 2014 against Valdosta State on Jan. 4. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. (C.S.T.) in Valdosta, Ga.

“It is a good win to take into the Christmas break with us,” Downey said. “We were just hoping to head into the break on a positive note but now we are playing so well, we don’t want those seven days off.”