HANCEVILLE – Wallace State’s men’s basketball team collected its second convincing conference victory in three days, coasting to a 73-48 triumph over Southern Union on Thursday night at Tom Drake Coliseum.
Sophomore guard Marcus Barham scored a game-high 15 points, Immanuel King had 14 and freshman Jaylen McCoy added 11 points for the Lions, who have won five consecutive games and nine of 10.
Wallace State (17-3, 2-0 Alabama Community College Conference) is off to its best start after 20 games under coach John Meeks.
“This is the least selfish group I think I’ve ever coached, even at the four-year level. These guys don’t care about their minutes or how many points they score. They just want to win,” said Meeks, who’s in his sixth season at Wallace State. “Night in and night out they know their role is going to be different in order for us to win. Winning is the ultimate goal for them.”
Two nights after a 17-point victory over Gadsden State in its conference opener, Wallace State seized control throughout against the Bison.
Wallace State scooted out to a 12-5 advantage with 12:32 remaining in the first half, capping the initial run with a Jaylen McCoy 3-pointer.
Barham handed Wallace State a double-digit lead, at 26-16, with a putback with a little more than two minutes left in the first half, and the Lions maintained a 28-20 advantage at the break.
Wallace State didn’t let up in the second half. Darren Williams’ 3-pointer with 12:29 remaining in the game gave the Lions a 46-30 cushion and another Williams’ 3-pointer a minute later extended the lead to 49-32.
Wallace State controlled at least a 20-point lead the rest of the way.
Meeks specifically credited the work of King and Derylton Hill in the paint for Wallace State and the effort from Williams off the bench.
Hill contributed eight points for the Lions, Williams and Xavier Mills scored seven points apiece and Kylen Butler finished with six.
Devin Pugh and DeQuarius Johnson each scored 11 points for Southern Union (5-9, 0-2 ACCC).
The Lions travel to Marion Military Institute on Tuesday for their first conference road game.
Women’s Basketball
Southern Union 75, Wallace State 70
Southern Union outlasted Wallace State over the final five minutes of the game, sending the Lady Bison to a conference victory.
Wallace State dropped to 6-13 overall and 0-2 in league play, despite a career-high 22 points from freshman guard Janese Richardson. Morgan Higgins also put together her best collegiate game for the Lady Lions, scoring 13 points off the bench in the second half. Higgins easily surpassed her 4.3 points per game average.
Wallace State led 39-38 at the half, and the teams swapped leads on nine consecutive possessions to open the third quarter.
Wallace State seized control with 3:23 remaining in the third quarter after Higgins, a freshman from Fayetteville, Tennessee, drained a 3-pointer. She added a pair of free throws 11 seconds later, pushing the Lady Lions’ advantage to 55-48 with two minutes remaining in the third.
The Lady Lions maintained a 57-52 lead after three quarters.
Southern Union countered with a run of its own in the final quarter, tying the game at 65-all at the five-minute mark.
The Lady Bison (15-1, 1-0 ACCC) followed with six consecutive points and a 10-5 surge to close the game.
Kendall Adams paced Southern Union with 22 points, Keremi Vinson had 11 points and Audrianna Walker added 10.
Alex Lowery scored 10 points for Wallace State and Velencia Johnson had six.
Wallace State led 19-15 after the first quarter after battling back from an early 11-2 deficit.
Wallace State dips out of division play on Saturday, hosting Chattahoochee Valley Community College at noon.
For more information about Wallace State athletics, visit athletics.wallacestate.edu.
