Wallace State basketball teams begin ACCC Tournament play this week
Wallace State’s Tamia Yancey recorded her first career double-double on Monday night.
HANCEVILLE, ALA. – Wallace State’s basketball teams begin their postseason quests this week, both playing Wallace Community College-Selma in their Alabama Community College Conference (ACCC) Tournament openers at Shelton State’s Umphrey Center.
The Lady Lions play the Lady Patriots on Tuesday at 11:30 a.m.
Wallace State’s men play Wallace CC-Selma on Wednesday at 11:30 am.
The women’s championship is scheduled for Friday at 4 p.m., and the men’s title game is at 6:30 p.m.
Tickets must be purchased here | https://www.acccathletics.com/general/2021-22/releases/ACCC_Basketball_Tickets
All games will be streamed at www.jockjive.com.
See the entire tournament pairings | https://www.acccathletics.com/general/2021-22/releases/20220214lh28d3
Wallace State men
Wallace State’s men have been impressive all season, entering the postseason with a 26-4 record. It’s the most wins for the program since the 2015-2016 season.
Allen Sharpe’s squad has won five straight games and 14 of its last 15. The team’s four losses are by an average of 5.5 points.
Wallace State, the North Division’s No. 2 seed, is among the most balanced teams in the ACCC, scoring 83 points per game and surrendering only 65 points to opponents. The Lions are second in the league in both categories.
“As with any of our teams, it starts on the defensive end. We spend the first two weeks of practice working on nothing but defense. Our guys have to hang their hat on playing tough defense,” said Sharpe, who surpassed the 400-career win mark earlier this season. “For the most part, we have relied on our three main guards for offense, and they have delivered. Our success has been from a combination of playing strong defense and finding the right guys on offense each night.”
Wallace State has four players averaging double figures.
Jaylen Lemons pours in 18.7 points per game followed by Kuran Garner with 16 points per contest. Both are in the Top 5 in the league in 3-point percentage with Lemons at 46.8 percent and Garner at 45.2 percent.
Lemons, a Cincinnati native, is second in the league with 157 assists.
Garner, a Buckhorn High grad, surpassed the 1,000-point mark earlier this season. He’s fifth in the league with 133 assists and has added 186 rebounds.
Te’Derrius Williams, a Tuscaloosa native, averages 10.4 points and a team-high 6.8 rebounds.
Freshman Myson Lowe averages 10.1 points per game and Nathan Moore, a Huntsville native, adds 6.9 points and 6.7 rebounds per game.
“We’ve had an exciting season, that’s for sure. However, there’s bigger fish to fry,” Sharpe said.
Wallace State won its lone meeting (80-58) against the Patriots on Nov. 22.
Wallace State women
Wallace State’s women’s team is also on a roll heading into the tournament.
The Lady Lions have won four straight games, including Saturday’s 74-51 victory over Coastal Alabama-South, and eight of their past 10.
Wallace State (16-11) went 13-4 in league play, also earning the No. 2 spot in the ACCC North standings.
Jessica McBrayer’s team has overcome early injuries and attrition.
“When things were tough, around Thanksgiving, we wrote down what we were thankful for. We looked at the list recently and the sentiment was the challenges were worth it. All of our goals are still attainable,” said McBrayer, who is one win away from reaching 100 career victories with the Lady Lions. “We believe that’s made us mentally tough and conditioned for anything. We’re playing our best basketball and look forward to this week.”
Three Wallace State players average double figures.
Destiny Garrett is averaging 12.3 points and 5.9 rebounds. Fairview grad Payton Golden pours in 10.6 points per game, while Camille Jenkins averages 10.2.
Freshman Tamia Yancey has flourished of late. The James Clemens grad was named the ACCC Player of the Week last week after recording her first career double-double. Yancey’s averaging a team-high six rebounds and 6.7 points.
The Lady Lions dropped their lone game (71-66) against Wallace CC-Selma more than three months ago.
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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