Wallace State basketball teams look to continue collective success as conference play heats up

HANCEVILLE – Wallace State’s basketball teams are on quite a roll as they prepare for their first Alabama Community College Conference (ACCC) doubleheader at home Thursday against Gadsden State.
Wallace State’s men (15-4) opened league play Monday night with an 80-66 victory over Marion Military behind Lee Moore’s 23 points. Jestin Lewis added 18 points and Marcus Johnson pitched in with 15 as the Lions extended their winning streak to eight games under coach John Meeks, marking the program’s longest streak since the 2009-10 season.
Meanwhile, the Wallace State women’s team enters league play with a 15-3 record, having won 11 of 12 games.
Both Wallace State basketball teams have won state championships within the past five seasons. The men won the 2010 and 2012 state titles, winning four games in four days as a No. 6 seed in 2012 during Meeks’ second season.  The women accomplished the same four-day feat in 2011.
While both programs have experienced recent postseason success, the teams haven’t collectively started conference play with such impressive resumes.
“It’s the best start to a season for both teams that I can remember since I’ve been here,” said third-year women’s coach Ron Burdette, who has been around both programs in some capacity since 2002. “Both of our hot starts say a lot about the players we recruit. I know my players also had around a 3.9 GPA after the fall semester. We have good basketball players and good people, and I think that contributes a lot to our success.”
Among its many assets, the Wallace State women can shoot effectively. And, then shoot some more. The Lady Lions lead the conference with 163 3-pointers made, shooting 32.8 percent from behind the arc. Lawson State is next in the conference with 101 3-pointers made.
The Lady Lions have also torched opponents with a balanced scoring attack. Morgan Pearson, a sophomore from Mississippi, leads Wallace State in scoring, coming off the bench with an average of 12.8 points per game.
The offense doesn’t stop with Pearson. Morgan Smith, a 5-foot-11 freshman from Cullman, averages 10.3 points per game, Jasmine Coleman puts in 9.8 points along with collecting 7.6 rebounds per game, Jaylan Snowden averages 9.6 and Brandee Busenlehner scores 8.4 points, leading the team with a 44 percent clip from behind the 3-point arc.
Wallace State’s offensive balance gives Burdette a luxury most coaches don’t have.
“I know we are going to score points, but I don’t know whose night it’s going to be from game to game. I don’t know who’s going to be the leader or who’s going to be as hot as a firecracker. I hope that makes us difficult to prepare for,” Burdette said. “I knew we had some shooters on this team, but I didn’t know we would be as good as of a shooting team as we are.”
Wallace State’s versatility at the forward position, whether it’s Smith, Pearson, Coleman or Ashley Rodgers, has also been a plus.
“Morgan Smith grew up in a basketball family with brothers, so she had no choice but to figure it out. She has been huge for us. She is strong inside, but also has the capabilities to knock down an outside shot just like many of our players do. Morgan creates so many mismatches and has a tremendous upside. She is going to continue to get better and better,” Burdette said.
Wallace State has also limited eight opponents to less than 50 points.
“Our defense triggers our offense. The sophomores have done a great job of mentoring our freshmen and preaching with me that defense comes first. I think it’s helped us tremendously that we have a lot of sophomore leadership to lean on and that our freshmen are willing to listen,” Burdette said.
Sophomore leadership has been a key for the Wallace State men as well. The Lions knew the returning sophomore guard duo of Marcus Johnson and Jestin Lewis had potential to be an advantage at the outset of the season and neither has disappointed. Throw in freshman Lee Moore and the Wallace State backcourt is one of the best in the conference, with all three guards averaging double digits.
Moore pours in 18 points per game, Johnson averages 15.9 and Lewis, a Mercer commit, adds 15.6 a night. Those three have helped Wallace State compiled its best winning stretch during Meeks’ four years at the helm.
“The focus for us right now is that every game is your championship and every day is your championship. We won a championship when we beat Marion and we have another championship game coming up against Gadsden State. We’re not focusing on anything else,” Meeks said. “We’ve had some strong stretches before Christmas in years past where we had reeled off five or six in a row, but the difference this season is we have played well after Christmas. We haven’t had a letdown.
“Our guys are starting to get things right. They are enjoying practice more and having fun. All of that is important for us to be where we’re at.”
During its winning streak, Wallace State has defeated a tough USC-Salkehatchie club twice, once-ranked Northeast Mississippi on the road, Cape Fear (N.C.) CC and Brunswick (N.C.) CC, among others.
Moore, a Kennesaw, Ga. native, also leads the team in rebounds, collecting 7.2 boards a game, and shoots 60 percent from the field, good for second in the conference. Pinson Valley grad Cody Farley has solidified the post for the Lions, averaging 9.1 points and 6.2 rebounds, after missing last season with a knee injury. Freshman guard Darius Joell has served as a scoring option on the wing, Sean Anthony is the team’s sixth man for the second straight season and X-keem Jones and Marcus Burwell, a pair of transfers, have provided quality minutes off the bench.
Meeks is confident in his team’s ability to post a crooked number on the scoreboard at any moment, but the Lions’ defense has been the catalyst during the winning streak.
“We have the ability to score. We can hang a number any half. The key is we’ve made a lot of defensive adjustments since Christmas, and our guys are willing and able to make defensive adjustments during the course of a game,” Meeks said. “If we can rebound and defend every night like we are capable, the sky is the limit for this team.”
As Wallace State encounters the conference stretch run, Meeks believes his sophomores will carry the load more than ever.
“Marcus Johnson and Jestin Lewis promised me this season wasn’t going to end like last season (when we lost to Shelton State in the quarterfinals). Both of those guys have been very coachable and have embraced a leadership role. They’ve got to continue to get the younger guys to come along and have everyone on the same page,” Meeks said. “I’m really proud of our sophomores. Having eight sophomores should help us in tight situations and in tight games over the next two months. I think it makes us a better team.”
The Wallace State women tip off Thursday’s doubleheader at 5:30 p.m. The teams then return home on Jan. 27, hosting rival Shelton State in a doubleheader.
For more information about Wallace State athletics, visit wallacestate.edu.