HANCEVILLE – Four Wallace State men finished with double figures, including freshmen Jaylen McCoy and Nubian Spann, and the Lions wrapped up non-conference action Thursday with a 70-51 victory over Cleveland State Community College at Tom Drake Coliseum.
McCoy poured in 15 points behind five 3-pointers for Wallace State, Marcus Barham had 15, Spann scored a career-high 12 points and Darren Williams added a season-high 12 points off the bench, sending the Lions (15-3) to their third consecutive win and seventh in their last eight games.
While the Lions have featured a balanced offensive attack this season, coach John Meeks has been pleased lately with his squad’s defensive effort.
“Strong defense wins in this league. Scoring 70 to 80 points a night isn’t going to happen every game. You have to play good defense to win a championship,” said Meeks, whose team hit 11 3’s against the Cougars. “A lot of our guys are bothered personally when they are scored upon. If we can focus on it bothering us when we are scored on individually, I think it helps the team.”
McCoy, the Class 4A Player of the Year last season at St. James School in Montgomery, drained four 3-pointers during a first-half stretch that extended Wallace State’s lead from 13-8 to 23-9. He also accounted for the Lions’ final bucket of the first half, nailing a 3-pointer with less than 40 seconds to go.
Wallace State led 36-30 at the break.
Spann, a North Carolina native, provided a spark in the second half, scoring eight of his 12 points in the final 20 minutes. He’s now posted double digits twice in his young career – both against Cleveland State. Spann entered Thursday averaging 4.7 points per game.
“Nubian Spann has been a new man since returning from the Christmas break. He’s come back and been really focused and energized. He guarded Cleveland State’s best player for a significant portion of the game and stepped up and did a good job,” Meeks said. “I was also encouraged to see Jaylen step up and play better. The biggest thing with both of those guys is consistency on a nightly basis.”
Barham handed the Lions a 45-30 advantage with 16:11 remaining in game on a 3-pointer from the right corner, and a Spann layup pushed the cushion to 58-39 with 9:10 left.
Cleveland State never got within 15 points the rest of the way, falling to Wallace State for the second time this season.
Immanuel King added six points for Wallace State, while Xavier Mills had five.
Lawrence Castor led Cleveland State in the loss with 11 points. Darrion Leslie and Jahaad Lyons each had 10.
Wallace State opens conference action Tuesday at home against Gadsden State. The Wallace State Lady Lions open the doubleheader at 5:30 p.m. followed by the men at 7:30 p.m.
The Wallace State men play five conference home games in January.
“I believe this team is ready for league play. This is a seasoned squad on the road, and we’ll need that come February,” Meeks said. “If this team continues to be an extension of me and executes, I think they’ve got a chance to do something special.”
