LIVINGSTON, Ala. - The University of West Alabama defended their home court on Thursday, defeating the John Melvin Mohawks, 106-52, in Pruitt Hall.
West Alabama (1-1) shot a blistering 61.4 percent from the floor and 46.2 percent from three, while holding John Melvin (3-1) to 34.5 percent from the field and 22.7 percent from three in route to their 54-point victory.
Jaylen Lemons was the story of the first half as the senior poured in 21 first half points on six made threes. Lemons' barrage began at the 7:00 minute mark as he buried back-to-back threes to give UWA an 18-9. Moments later, buckets from Caleb McGill and Thaddeus Williams along with another three from Lemons pushed the Tigers' lead out to 30-19. Two possessions later, the Mohawks' Joshua Wyatt scored a layup before West Alabama went on a colossal 22-6 run, with Lemons converting two more three-pointers, giving UWA a 54-27 lead at halftime.
The Tigers shot 55.3 percent from the floor and 44.4 percent from three in the first half, while holding John Melvin to 31 percent shooting and out rebounding them by 13.
West Alabama didn't let up in the second half as Rasean Frederick sparked an 8-2 run fresh out of the locker room, extending UWA's lead to 62-29. The Tigers' offense continued to get whatever they wanted on the offensive end of the floor, building their lead up to 83-39 with 8:26 left to play. Up by a boatload, head coach Nick Woodruff went deeper into his bench, inserting Hugh Hargett who made the most out of his minutes. Hargett entered the game at the 7:03 mark and instantly caught fire, scoring 13 points on 75 percent shooting and three made threes in four minutes of game time. Hargett's explosion ignited the West Alabama crowd as the Tigers went on to win 106-52.
Lemons led the way with a game-high 25 points while Frederick recorded a double-double with 19 points and 11 rebounds on 90 percent shooting.
West Alabama will resume their regular season on Sunday when they welcome Virginia Lynchburg for a 2:00 p.m. non-conference contest.
