No. 19 Wallace State men race past Alabama Southern in ACCC Tournament quarterfinals
HANCEVILLE, ALA. – Four Wallace State players finished with double figures, and the top-seeded Lions overcame a slow start in a 77-60 victory over Alabama Southern in the Alabama Community College Conference (ACCC)/Region 22 quarterfinals Wednesday afternoon at Tom Drake Coliseum.
Wallace State, ranked 19th nationally and one of two top seeds in the tournament, used a 23-4 run over the final seven minutes of the first half to control an 11-point cushion at intermission. The Lions (26-5) cruised the rest of the way, rolling to their 18th win in 21 games.
“It had been a full week since we had played, and I think we were tight early. We’ve had good days of practice, so it was just a matter of calming down and playing. Once we got loose, we were able to pull away. Give Alabama Southern credit. They played hard and did what they wanted to do early,” said Wallace State coach John Meeks, whose team is aiming for the program’s third conference title in five seasons.
Derylton Hill scored a game-high 15 points for Wallace State, Marcus Barham had 12 behind three 3-pointers, Kylen Butler had 12 and Jaylen McCoy added 10 off the bench.
“You’ve got to have a balanced attack this time of the year. Individual guys have to step up, and you just hope it’s a new set of guys who step up tomorrow. You have to figure out game-by-game who those guys are going to be,” Meeks said.
After a 10-all tie at the 11:45 mark in the first half, Alabama Southern went on a 10-2 run, grabbing a 20-12 lead with 9:12 to go before the break.
The Eagles, the South Division’s No. 4 seed, led 22-14 with 7:02 remaining before Wallace State seized momentum.
Butler hit a 3-pointer and layup on consecutive possessions for the Lions, and Immanuel King added a putback with 5:54 left before half, trimming Wallace State’s deficit to 22-20.
A pair of Butler free throws tied the game at 22-all with 5:24 remaining.
Both teams traded leads over the next two minutes before Wallace State closed the first half on a 13-1 surge for a 37-26 advantage.
Wallace State cruised in the second half, extending its lead to 48-34 with 14:24 remaining on a Barham 3-pointer. The Lions led by as many as 19 points after the half.
Wallace State point guard Xavier Mills scored all nine of his points in the second half and King added seven.
For Alabama Southern, Daniel Kinchen and Jarad Pruitt led the way with nine points apiece and Jacob Booke and Desmond Williams each scored eight.
Wallace State, which improved to 13-1 at home, advances to play rival Shelton State at 5 p.m. on Thursday. Wallace State and Shelton State have combined to win seven of the last eight ACCC titles.
Thursday’s action begins with a pair of women’s semifinal games. The 6th-seeded Wallace State Lady Lions play fourth-seeded Snead State at 1 p.m. followed by top-seeded Shelton State vs. No. 2 seed Wallace-Selma at 3 p.m.
For more information on the tournament, visit www.wallacestate.edu/accctourney or www.acccathletics.com.
For more information about Wallace State athletics, visit http://athletics.wallacestate.edu/
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Russell Moore
Staff Writer
Wallace State Community College
P.O. Box 2000, Hanceville, AL 35077
1-866-350-9722 256-352-8443 direct
Russell.Moore@wallacestate.edu
Visit us online at www.wallacestate.edu