On Thursday night, Feb. 12, 2026, Union University’s men’s basketball team played a close, well-fought game in the Fred Delay Gymnasium, losing to the University of West Alabama.
The energy was still high due to the Lady Bulldogs pulling off a blowout win against the Lady Tigers of West Alabama just two hours earlier. You could feel the anticipation and pressure rising in the gym. Would the men’s team be able to pull off a victory as well?
The Bulldogs kept pace with the Tigers in the first 10 minutes of the first half, but the Tigers extended their lead to 18 points by the end of the half, with the score of 43-25. They would proceed to play their hearts out and eventually got the Tigers’ lead down to just single digits for a few moments, thanks to senior Terrence Ringo Jr., GSC Player of the Week.
But the Tigers eventually began to pull away once more and steadily pushed the lead back to double digits with the score of 69-54, just eight minutes left in the second half. Union got a second wind and again traded hoops with the Tigers for the next three or so minutes. Coach David Niven looked at the play clock when he realized that time was running out and called a timeout with less than two minutes left in the game. The Bulldogs rushed over, and Niven told them to give one last push and give it all they got. The Bulldogs and the Tigers proceeded to put points up in the final seconds of the game, which ended the contest 79-69 as the time expired. West Alabama won the game, but not easily.
An aspect that helped the Bulldogs this season is their aggression, chemistry and laser focus between the players. The ball movement was so smooth and quick that it was difficult to follow the ball before the players attempted to take a shot. A key ingredient to this chemistry is Terrence Ringo Jr., the leading scorer of the game.
“Our chemistry is something we’ve been intentional about building all season. It’s definitely a mix of preparation and trust,” Ringo said. “Our coaches spend a lot of time in practice emphasizing spacing and communication. Having these qualities as a team helps make an extra pass we need, and that only works if we trust each other.”
Ringo believes that the result of the game last night was growth. He knows that he and the entire team are not satisfied with the results, but they try to compete hard despite the score displayed. He believes that they will bounce back from this loss and move on to the next game with a new determination.
“We know the margin is small in this conference. If we maintain our level of trust in each other and the Lord, we will bring the same energy with sharper execution to put ourselves in the position for our next victory,” Ringo said.
Ringo and the Union University men’s basketball team will remain at home and compete against the University of Alabama in Huntsville on Feb. 14.