Wallace State's Zion Williams (10) drives to the basket during the Lions' 73-53 win over Gadsden State. (Bill Piper for The Cullman Tribune)
HANCEVILLE, ALA. — Wallace State’s basketball teams are on a roll as the conference season stretch extends into February. The teams completed a sweep over Gadsden State at Tom Drake Coliseum on Monday night, each extending their winning streaks to six games.
The 22nd-ranked Lady Lions (21-4, 5-1 Alabama Community College Conference) opened Homecoming 2019 with a convincing 88-55 win behind freshman Imari Martin’s career-high 25 points. Martin, a freshman from Hazel Green, shot 7 of 11 from the field, including draining four 3-pointers. She added eight assists.
Sophomore DeMaurea Moore finished with 15 points and six rebounds for Wallace State, Miajah Bullock added 12 points, Jasmine Baker had nine and Kyra Williams pitched in with eight points off the bench as the Lady Lions registered their second win over Gadsden State this season and their 17th win in their last 18 games.
“We started out the season 4-3 and weren’t pleased. We recommitted to what we’re doing and our goals and have been on a great run. We’re always discussing how the next game is the biggest one on the schedule, and it’s exciting to me to see our players enthused and excited about playing every single game like it’s their last,” said Wallace State women’s coach Jessica McBrayer. “We want to make a statement in the conference and our players have that fire about them to do so.”
Bullock, who was named the ACCC Player of the Week on Tuesday, is third in the league in scoring with 17.2 points per game, and Moore is third in the ACCC with nine rebounds per game.
Wallace State raced out to a 22-12 lead by the end of the first quarter against the Lady Cardinals and pushed the cushion to 48-27 by the half.
Gadsden State never threatened in the second half. Morgan Frazier led the Lady Cardinals with 15 points and Tiyonna Rogers added 14.
Wallace State 73 – Gadsden State 53 (men’s game)
Sophomore Demarkus Lampley poured in 32 points, Geordon Walker finished with 12 and Zion Williams added 11 as Wallace State’s men capped Monday’s sweep with another impressive conference win.
The Lions (19-5, 7-1 ACCC) have won six consecutive games and eight of their last nine games to remain tied with Shelton State atop the ACCC North Division.
“We’ve had to win games a variety of ways this season, and we had a feeling that was going to be the case. We’re talented and feel like we have a good team, but our success is going to be determined on how we defend. We’re going to have nights where we’re not scoring and our defense is going to be called upon to win the game,” said Wallace State men’s coach John Meeks. “I was disappointed we didn’t extend our lead right before the half, but we did a good job pushing it out early in the second half. Our defense buckled down.”
Wallace State scooted out a 21-7 advantage over the game’s opening 10 minutes, and Williams extended it to 24-7 with 9:44 to go in the first half on a 3-point play.
The Lions led by as many as 14 points in the first half and sustained a 40-29 advantage at the break. Wallace State opened the second half with a 16-3 surge over a five-minute stretch, ultimately putting the game away.
Markise Davis added seven points for Wallace State and Jalen Hodges contributed six.
With another 30+ points effort for the Lions, Lampley is the ACCC’s scoring leader, averaging 25.3 points per game. He has reached double digits in all 24 games for Wallace State, surpassing the 20-point mark in 20 games and 30-point mark in five games, including scoring a career-high 45 points on Nov. 3.
For Gadsden State, Shondarius McKinney had 11 points. Xavier Malcom, Kendrick Buskey and Luke Graham pitched in with eight apiece.
Both Wallace State teams travel to Lawson State on Thursday and Shelton State on Saturday.
For more information about Wallace State athletics, visit www.athletics.wallacestate.edu or the athletics Facebook page at www.wallacestate.edu/athleticsfb.
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