LIVINGSTON, Ala. - The University of West Alabama men's basketball team defeated the No. 6 University of West Georgia 79-68 inside Pruitt Hall on Wednesday night.
The Tigers snapped an 11-game winning streak held by the Wolves, the third longest active streak in Division II coming into the night.
UWA began the contest with a 5-4 lead after Terry Durham answered a Zawdie Jackson layup with one of his own less than two minutes in.
West Alabama went cold from the field for almost six minutes, but the Tigers' defense stood strong, only allowing the Wolves to take a three-point lead, 8-5. Thaddeus Williams broke the Tigers' scoring silence with a layup to bring UWA back within one with 12 minutes remaining.
Jackson and Cameron Donaltan, the Wolves leading scorers coming into the game, hit back-to-back 3-pointers to stretch the UWG lead to five with just over ten minutes left in the first half.
UWA stormed ahead with a furious nine-point burst in the final three minutes of the half, capped off by a successful trip to the charity stripe from Kuran Garner to take a 32-29 lead into the break.
After the Jackson three to start the second period for West Georgia, West Alabama went on a 13-3 run in a three-minute span, led by back-to-back triples from Durham. UWA's run swelled to a commanding 45-32 lead with 16:51 remaining.
UWA grabbed hold of momentum and never looked back, holding at least a seven-point lead for the remainder of the contest as The Tigers captured an 11-point statement victory over the Wolves, who are ranked sixth in both the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) and the Division II College Sports Communicators (D2CSC) polls.
"It took a full team effort tonight; it just proves that we can beat anyone in the country," said head coach Nick Woodruff.
The Tigers went 29-of-32 from the charity stripe, with 18 points coming from the line in the second stanza.
Kuran Garner came just short of his career-high with a 26-point effort on Wednesday, a season-best for the senior. He went 6-for-11 shooting and added two steals in 33 minutes.
"We stick to the game plan and play together. We play for each other; we've got each other's back," said Garner.
Jaylen Lemons scored 13 points along with seven rebounds and four assists, while Terry Durham tallied 13 points of his own along with five boards and two steals.
Caleb McGill added three triples and three boards off the bench in 17 minutes of action.
"Every single one of us left it all out on the floor tonight," said CJ Melton.
The West Alabama defense held West Georgia to 68 points, its lowest total of the season to date.
UWG suffers its first loss of the calendar year, with the team's last coming from Alabama Huntsville in overtime on Dec. 30.
West Alabama moves to 16-8 overall and 13-7 in Gulf South Conference play. West Georgia falls to 20-3 and 16-3.
The Tigers will stay home for their next matchup as they take on Christian Brothers, currently sitting in fifth place in the GSC, on Thursday, Feb. 22 for Senior Night. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m. inside Pruitt Hall.
