LIVINGSTON, Ala. – The No. 1 West Alabama men's basketball team advances to the semifinal round of the 2022 Gulf South Conference Championship Tournament after defeating No. 8 Delta State 71-58 in the quarterfinal Tuesday evening.
Justin Allison went five for 13 from the field, including two of six in three-point range, and eight-for-eight at the line, to lead the Tigers with a season-high 20 points. Shardarrion Allen tallied his fourth double-double with 17 points and a career-high 16 boards. Senior guard Robert Davis added 14 to round out the double-digit scoring for West Alabama.
As a team, the Tigers (24-5, 16-4 Gulf South Conference) went 24-for-63 (38.1 percent) from the floor, including five of 24 (20.8 percent) in the three-point range. At the line, UWA added 18 of 21 (85.7 percent).
Delta State (10-16, 9-11 GSC) hit 21 of 49 (42.9 percent) from the field, with four of 15 (26.7 percent) from beyond the arc. The Statesmen struggled at the line, making just 12 of 18 (66.7 percent).
Maalik Cartwright led Delta State in scoring. He was the only Statesmen to shoot double-figures with a game-high 21 points. Lee Cotton led DSU in rebounding, bringing down eight boards.
West Alabama started the game trailing Delta State after the Statemen went on a 6-0 run in the first two minutes. Around the 17-minute mark, Robert Davis put the Tigers on the board with a layup to cut DSU's lead to 6-2.
With three-pointers by Kavan Hill and Justin Allison, UWA went on a 6-0 run to tie the game at 12 with 12:22 left to play. Two minutes later, a jumper in the paint by Calvin Finch gave West Alabama its first lead of the game, 14-12.
The Tigers would remain ahead of the Statemen for the remainder of the period to enter the half with a 35-26 advantage.
Allen hit the first two points after the break, but it would be West Alabama's only points for over three minutes. In the Tigers scoring absent, Delta State scored four to trail 37-30 with 15:39 left.
Allison ended UWA's scoring drought with a jumper, and a layup from Te Smith followed. West Alabama extended its lead to 41-32 with 13:35 remaining.
Made shots on both sides of the court slowed as Delta State scored just four points over four minutes and the Tigers added two. Allen put West Alabama back on the scoreboard with a tip-in to reach his fourth double-double, scoring his 10th point with 8:13 left to play. The Tigers held a 45-36 advantage.
The final six minutes were filled with trips to the line. Delta State scored 10 points in free throws, and the Tigers had 12 in the contest's last minutes.
West Alabama's quarterfinal win was punctuated with closing seconds dunks by Calvin Finch and CJ Melton. UWA advances to the semifinals in Birmingham, Ala., with the 71-58 victory over Delta State. The Tigers will take on the winner of the Alabama Huntsville and West Georgia contest on Saturday, March 5, at the Pete Hanna Center.
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.
