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LaJuan Hardy
Joe Chance
62
Mississippi College MC 8-18 (4-16 GSC)
91
Winner West Alabama UWA 21-7 (14-6 GSC)
Mississippi College MC
8-18 (4-16 GSC)
62
Final
91
West Alabama UWA
21-7 (14-6 GSC)
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Mississippi College MC 21 41 62
West Alabama UWA 55 36 91

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

Tigers Hot Shooting Leads to Dominant Win over MC, 91-62

LIVINGSTON, Ala. – The University of West Alabama men's basketball team came out to make a statement and the group did just that with an inspired shooting performance in an 91-62 victory over the Mississippi College Choctaws Saturday evening in Gulf South Conference action in Pruitt Hall Gymnasium.
 
UWA finished the regular season 21-7 overall and 14-6 in the GSC. MC ended the season 8-18 and 4-16 in league play.
 
"I hope we didn't use up all of our points tonight," said Head coach Allen Sharpe. "This was a big game that we had to win, and our guys came out with a sense of urgency tonight and it showed. We know we have to defend. It's Feb. 29. We know it and the teams know that we play hard on that side of the ball. All I worry about is the offense."
 
The offense hummed to a 54.5 percent (36-of-66) shooting from the floor, 47.6 percent (10-of-21) from behind the arc and 75 percent (9-of-12) from the free throw line.
 
LaJuan Hardy put up a UWA career high 27 points with a 5-of-10 effort from three along with eight rebounds, seven assists and five steals. Mike Davis continued his steady increase in usage with 18 points and 10 rebounds for his sixth career double double. Tyrus Grayson added 10 points to round out double-digit scorers.
 
Several players finished just outside of double digits as Darron Johnson and Ricky Dunnaway both scored nine points and Rene Scott scored eight points. Dunnaway also had seven rebounds.
 
The Tigers' goal was to hold the Choctaws under 60 according to Coach Sharpe and the team nearly accomplished the objective. UWA outscored MC 55-21 in first half, but Mississippi College got a lot of buckets late and won the second half 41-36 to end the game 91-62 in favor of West Alabama.
 
The Choctaws shot 36.8 percent (21-of-57) overall, 38.9 percent (7-of-18) from the three and 76.5 percent (13-of-17) from the free throw line.
 
Winford Ross led MC with 21 points.  Zach Jones scored 15 and TJ Ben scored 12 to round out a trio of double-digit scorers for the visitors. No other player scored more than four points.
 
West Alabama now looks forward to hosting the first round of the GSC on March 3 as the four seed and will host the fifth seeded Union Bulldogs (19-9, 13-7).
 
"Union is a tough test. They shoot the three-ball really well and that's scary," said Sharpe. "It's especially bad when they have the really talented player in (Tyree) Boykin. But we accept the challenge. We want to win this tournament and you have to play people to do it."
UWA swept Union in the regular season with a 73-68 road win on Jan.11 and a 76-59 home win on Feb. 15. 
 
"It's hard to beat a team three times is all we're going to hear this week, but you know it's hard to beat a team one time," said Sharpe. "We have to focus on the task that lays ahead of us Tuesday to get the win and advance."
 
Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. in Pruitt Hall Gym. Tickets are $10 for adults and $3 for students. Tickets can be purchased at the door the night of the game.
 
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