Plagued by foul trouble and without two key players, Union County lost to Broome 66-63 Tuesday night.

Despite leading by nine points late in the fourth quarter, Broome made a three-pointer and forced a turnover to close the lead by four.

“They changed our momentum and our defense couldn’t respond,” coach Joe Pitt said.

Union County, who was without starters Desmond Floyd and Michael Mebane, was forced to switch to a zone defense late in the game when three players got in foul trouble.

“Having three players in foul trouble helped prevent us from playing aggressive,” he said. “Our pressure defense is our bread and butter. We are not used to playing a zone defense.”

Brett Smith led the Yellow Jackets with 18 points; Brandon Stapleton scored 16 points.

“Desmond Floyd is our biggest player and Michael Mebane is our best aggressive player inside,” Pitt said. “We miss them greatly, but we have had some freshman and sophomores step up.”

Mebane is expected to be out for the rest of the week and Floyd may return for the Friday’s game against Chesnee.

“We are a small team, but we can overcome that because we are athletic and can create a pressure defense,” Pitt said.