HANCEVILLE – Wallace State’s men’s basketball outlasted Marion Military Institute in their nationally-ranked showdown Thursday night, gutting out a 49-46 victory at Tom Drake Coliseum.
Marcus Barham scored 14 points and Xavier Mills added 11 for the 17th-ranked Lions, who avenged their lone conference loss of the season and snapped the 16th-ranked Tigers’ 15-game winning streak.
Wallace State, which commanded as much as an 11-point cushion in the second half, held off a late Marion Military surge, securing the win in the final seconds as Ronnie Baylark’s potential game-tying trey from the left corner was too long for the Tigers (20-4, 8-1 Alabama Community College Conference).
“I couldn’t be more proud of our guys. Our returning sophomores have battled and done what they’ve needed to do to get us where we are right now,” said Wallace State coach John Meeks. “I knew this was going to be a grind and it was. It took an all-around team effort. I’m a firm believer in defense winning championship when it’s all said and done, and we played one of our best defensive games.”
Wallace State (23-4, 8-1 ACCC) is now tied atop the conference’s North Division with the Tigers after limiting Marion Military leading scorer Christian Bradford to a season-low nine points. Bradford, who entered averaging 18.6 points per game, has failed to crack double digits in only two games this season, both against Wallace State on Thursday and Jan. 19.
“Bradford is the Player of the Year to me. He’s very good. We knew we had to focus on him and Baylark and hold both of them to as low a number as possible,” said Meeks, whose team has won six in a row and 15 of 17.
Wallace State charged out to 10-5 lead less than five minutes into the game, receiving scoring contributions from four different players. Derylton Hill’s 3-point play with 9:17 to go in the first half pushed the Lions’ advantage to 17-8.
Wallace State led 25-20 at the break after receiving eight points from freshman forward LaParis Hall, who has been pressed into duty in the post because of injuries on the roster.
“LaParis has been unbelievable lately. He’s played more minutes the last two games than he’s played all season combined. He did a great job in the first half and finished around the rim,” Meeks said. “It says a lot for a freshman to stay the course and not give up because he’s not playing a lot. We’ve told LaParis his time was coming and it’s here.”
Barham opened the second half with 3s on consecutive possessions for Wallace State, extending the cushion to 31-20.
The Lions maintained a 32-22 lead with 16:35 left and 34-24 with 12:12 to go.
Marion Military used an 8-0 run over the next four minutes. A pair of Charles Tripp free throws trimmed Wallace State’s edge to 34-32 with 8:03 remaining.
Barham and Mills answered with jumpers on consecutive possessions for the Lions for a 38-32 lead. Wallace State never controlled more than a six-point lead the rest of the way.
Immanuel King drained two free throws with 2:06 remaining, giving Wallace State a 46-41 advantage and a pair of Barham free throws gave the Lions a 48-43 margin with 44.9 seconds remaining.
Bradford got the Tigers within two points with 21.3 seconds left, and Marion Military had an opportunity to force overtime with its final possession. Wallace State forced a tough 3-pointer from Baylark and corralled the loose ball as time expired.
Hall scored all eight of his points in the first half for the Lions, Barham had 10 of his 14 in the second half and Derylton Hill chipped in with nine points.
Tripp led Marion Military with a game-high 16 points. Baylark added seven.
Thursday marked Marion Military’s first loss since Nov. 16.
Wallace State has lost only once since the calendar flipped to 2016.
It was the final regular-season home game for seven Wallace State sophomores: Mills, King, Barham, Hill, Kylen Butler, Darren Williams and Tyrell Clary.
The Lions wrap up the regular season with three consecutive road games, including a visit to Shelton State on Feb. 18.
“Our guys fed off the great crowd we had tonight (Thursday). It was good for the team to play in front of a big crowd in such a big game. It was the best fan support we’ve had in a long time, especially for a single game,” Meeks said. “This win is not the destination though. We’re going to enjoy it for a bit, but we still have three important games left.”
For more information about Wallace State athletics, visit http://athletics.wallacestate.edu/.
