Perfection! Men's basketball completes unbeaten AAC run on buzzer-beater

CLEVELAND, Ga. - While Union's attempt to run the table in the Appalachian Athletic Conference got more dramatic than the Bulldogs would have liked Saturday, the team knew exactly where to turn when it needed to put away a pesky opponent.

For the third time in a stretch of 359 days, Deonte Douglas hit a game-winning, buzzer-beating shot as No. 3 Union secure a perfect 24-0 record in AAC play with a thrilling 85-83 win over Truett McConnell Saturday.

Taking the in-bounds pass following a game-tying Cooper Rubio layup with 14 seconds to play, the ball never left Douglas' hands on the final possession. After dribbling around a defender, Douglas drove left near the block into a switching Cory Seitz. After stopping on his left foot, he spun around and floated a shot over Seitz's outstretched, 6-foot-8-inch arm.

Swish.

Douglas' heroics have become the norm for Union. He hit a buzzer-beating 3 to defeat Point in the opening round of the AAC Tournament last season, then connected from three-quarters court to secure an improbable 85-84 win over Indiana Kokomo earlier this season.

Though perhaps not as thrilling as those previous two, Saturday's shot was just as impactful, as it helped the Bulldogs wrap up their first unbeaten run through conference play since a 20-0 finish in 2016-17. That team went on to win an NAIA Division II National Championship.

The shot also ended a wild second half that saw Union build an 18-point lead only to surrender a 20-0 run in just over four minutes, then go back up 82-72 before the Bears put together an 11-1 run, one that was halted by Douglas' heroics.

Markelle Turner and Terrin Hamilton both had 23 points to lead the Bulldogs. Turner topped 20 points for the 14th time this season, while Hamilton crossed the mark for the 13th time.

Markelo Sullivan (15) and Douglas (12) also scored in double figures, with Anton Mozga pulling down a game-high 10 rebounds as Union finishes the regular season with a 26-1 overall record.

The 2023 AAC Tournament bracket will be revealed Sunday.