LIVINGSTON, Ala. - The University of West Alabama Men's Basketball team ended the year of 2024 the right way, defeating the Mississippi College Choctaws, 78-73, in Pruitt Hall.
After a pedestrian first half offensively, UWA (8-4, 4-2 GSC) found their offensive flow in the second, shooting 62 percent from the floor and 50 percent from three which led to their five-point win over Mississippi College (6-6, 2-4 GSC).
"We just kept answering the bell throughout this game and had much better offensive play in the second half," said head coach Nick Woodruff. "Very proud of the guys effort and thank goodness we can enjoy Christmas now."
West Alabama got off to a sluggish start, leading to Mississippi College taking a 12-7 lead, five minutes in. A three from Marcellious Lockett made it a three-point game before the Tigers offensive lull returned as they went the next four minutes without a basket. The Choctaws extended their lead to seven during that span until back-to-back buckets from Tyree Bracey and Ty Briscoe gave MC their largest lead of the half at 21-12. Down nine with 7:30 left in the period, Thaddeus Williams took over the game for UWA, scoring 13 of his 17 first half points in the final 7:30 of the half to cut the Tigers' deficit to two at the break.
West Alabama shot 32 percent from the field and 25 percent from three in the first half while Mississippi College shot 50 percent from the floor and 55 percent from three.
UWA's offense began to heat up in the second half courtesy of Rasean Frederick who poured in 18 of his game-high 24 points in the period. Frederick got to work fresh out of the locker room, scoring on the Tigers' first two possessions, giving West Alabama a two-point lead. A couple of possessions later, Mississippi College tied the game back up before Jaylen Lemons caught fire from deep. The Senior Guard buried a trifecta of threes in the next three minutes of game time, propelling UWA to their largest lead of the night at 55-44 with 12:13 remaining. Down 11, MC's Rashad Bolden, who was the second leading scorer in the country last season, found his rhythm as the guard scored 10 straight points over the course of two minutes for the Choctaws to cut the Tigers' lead to two. Bolden was virtually unguardble in the half, hitting contested shot after contested shot. Bolden kept Mississippi College in the game and even propelled the Choctaws to a 66-65 lead with 5:20 to play. Trailing for the first time since the beginning of the period, Frederick took over for West Alabama, scoring seven points in the final 5:20 of play to lift UWA to a 78-73 win.
Frederick only missed one shot in his 24-point performance while Williams also added on 24 points on 50 percent shooting. Lemons poured in 14 points, with all 14 coming in the second half.
"The season is a journey," coach Woodruff explained. "You either figure out a way to win or a way to lose and in the last two games, we've figured out ways to win."
The Tigers head into the Holiday Break on a two-game winning streak and will resume their season on January 2 when they travel to Memphis, Tennessee for a matchup against Christian Brothers at 7:00 p.m.
