LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN, Ga. – The Union College Bulldogs watched as the home-standing Covenant (Ga.) College Scots bounced back late to capture a 71-67 Appalachian Athletic Conference win Saturday.

With the results, the Bulldogs moved to 15-9 overall and 5-7 in the conference, meanwhile Covenant went to 3-9 in AAC play and 7-16 overall.

With the ball, down 69-67 and 18 seconds to go in the contest, a shot from Union’s Michael Hester (Independence, Ky.) was blocked by Chris Hall. The Bulldogs got the offensive rebound only to see Hall block Chris Stunson’s (Richmond, Ky.) shot to secure the win for Covenant. The Scots added a pair of free throws from Dominique McGauhey to make the final score 71-67.

Union led for a majority of the second half, but Covenant took their third lead of the period, 66-65,after Daniel Nielson sunk a pair of free throws with 2:30 left on the clock. Two more free tosses from Reed Crosson gave Covenant a three-point advantage. Brian Kirk (Augusta, Ky.) scoredoff an offensive rebound with 1:33 remaining to cut into the Scots’ advantage. That is as close as the Bulldogs could come in the final moments.

With the halftime score tied at 37 apiece, Covenant took a quick second-half lead behind a Wade Tapp 3-pointer a minute and half into the period. In the next three-plus minutes, the Bulldogs reeled off 10-straight points. Union would keep control, until the end of the contest.

To start the game, Covenant jumped in front 10-6 and the Bulldogs responded with an 11-3 run over the next five minutes to hold a 17-13 advantage. The four-point lead was the largest either team enjoyed in the first 20 minutes. In all, there were 10 ties and eight lead changes in the opening half.

Union was led by Aaron Dunaway (Lexington, Ky.) and his 15 points. Stunson and Bill Davis (Harrodsburg, Ky.) chipped in 10 points a piece. Kirk grabbed a game-best nine rebounds, two off his season high.

Covenant was led by Nielson with a game-high 21 points while Crosson added 15 more points.

The Bulldogs made 44.6 percent (29-for-65) of their shots. In comparison, Covenant converted on 39.2 percent (20-for-51) from the field. The Scots did make six more 3-point baskets and held the advantage at the free-throw line. Covenant went 20-for-27 (74.1 percent) from the line while Union was 4-for-9 (44.4 percent).

Union will host Tennessee Wesleyan College Tuesday for a 7:30 p.m. AAC match up. Tennessee Wesleyan won the first battle between the Bulldogs, 74-64, on Dec. 8 in Athens.

Bulldog Notes

• Union won the first meeting between against Covenant on Dec. 4 by a score of 76-69. It was the first AAC win of the season for the Bulldogs.
• This is the 40th time Dunaway has scored in double-digits in his career. This season he has a total of 19 double-digit scoring efforts.
• The 4-point defeat ties the smallest margin of defeat. The other was a 75-71 setback at Bethel (Tenn.) College.
• Union is 0-2 when the game is tied at halftime.
• The Bulldogs are now 14-3 when they make more baskets than their opponents.