LIVINGSTON, Ala. – The West Alabama men's basketball team prepares to open conference play with a two-game road swing in Mississippi. The Tigers will make stops at Mississippi College on Thursday, Dec. 2, and Delta State on Saturday, Dec. 4, to begin league competition.
UWA enters the contests 5-1 on the season after a four-game winning streak at home. Leading into conference play, the Tigers defeated Florida State College, Oakwood University, Southeastern Baptist, LaGrange College, and Brewton-Parker College. Their only loss was a close 69-67 overtime nail-bitter at Eckerd College.
Junior guard Kortrijk Miles leads the West Alabama offense, playing in all six games with five starts. The Dallas, Texas native averages 21.7 points per game and 7.8 rebounds. He shoots .525 from the field and .721 at the free-throw line. This season, Miles has also collected nine assists, eight steals, and one block.
Shardarrion Allen also averages double-digits. The junior forward averages 11.3 points per game and 4.3 rebounds with five assists, 10 steals, and three blocks on the season.
The Choctaws are 2-3 with victories over Division III opponent Millsaps College and NAIA opponent LSU-Shreveport. MC enters Thursday's competition after an 83-58 exhibition loss to Samford University on Tuesday, Nov. 30.
Sophomore guard Tradavis Thompson leads Mississippi College's offense, averaging 12.4 points per game and 2.8 rebounds. Brandon Boston also sees double-digits to average 12.0 points per game and 3.0 rebounds.
The Statesmen are 1-5 overall with their only victory against Eckerd College, 86-80, in overtime. Delta State will first take on Alabama-Huntsville on Thursday before hosting the Tigers on Saturday. DSU enters conference play after an 82-60 loss at Southern Arkansas.
Delta State has four players shooting in the double-digits. Airen Brooks leads the pack to average 17.83 points per game with 7.33 rebounds. Maalik Cartwright sees 16.0, while Kelen Dietrich and Kasey Walker-Gregg average 10.4 and 10.12 points per game, respectively.
The Tigers lead the series against Mississippi College 34-33 and face the Choctaws for the 67th time in program history. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m int the A.E. Wood Coliseum in Clinton, Miss.
Delta State is 37-31 against UWA. The competition on Saturday is scheduled for 4 p.m. at the Walter Sillers Coliseum.
Links for the live stream and the live stats are on the UWA Athletics website. Both games will be broadcast live on SLY 104.9 with commentary from Mark Gilliam.
To stay connected with the UWA Men's basketball team, follow @UWA_basketball on Twitter. General athletic news, along with game recaps and box scores, can be found at uwaathletics.com. Additional updates and information are available @UWAAthletics on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.
