CLEVELAND, Miss. - The University of West Alabama Men's Basketball team extended their win streak to seven on Thursday with a 67-51 victory over the Delta Statesmen.
West Alabama (9-1, 5-0 GSC) continues to dominant teams with their defense as they held Delta State (5-5, 2-3 GSC) to 51 points on 34.8 percent shooting and 22.2 percent from three.
Thursday's win also marks the 100th career win for UWA Head Coach Nick Woodruff.
"I'm so thankful," said coach Woodruff. "Coach Wallace and Dr.Tucker gave me this opportunity and now we've got Administration in Brett Gilliland and President Fritch who have poured their whole self into us. This is all about the players and the coaches we've had. Justin (Allison) and Jake (Jobling) have done an unbelievable job and we've had some great players that have bought in to what we're trying to do."
Caleb Parr, BJ Brown Jr., and Rasean Frederick was the heart of the Tigers' offense in the first half as the trio combined for 26 of UWA's 28 points. Parr got things started with a three-point barrage, burying three three-pointers in the first 10 minutes. Parr's shooting from deep propelled West Alabama to a 19-15 lead before the Tigers' stout defense took precedence. Leading by four, halfway through the first half, UWA didn't allow DSU to convert on a field goal for the next seven and a half minutes. While West Alabama's defense shined, their offense struggled, leading to a 25-21 game with 4:28 left in the half. The Statesmen tied the game up at 25, after holding the Tigers scoreless for the next four minutes until Frederick connected on a halfcourt heave at the buzzer to give UWA a 28-25 lead at the break.
West Alabama shot 41 percent from the floor while holding Delta State to 29 percent shooting and 22 percent from three in the first half.
The Tigers blitzed the Statesmen out of halftime, using an 11-2 run to extend their lead to 11. West Alabama continued to put the pressure on Delta State as a Brown Jr. to Christian Thompson alley-oop and another three from Parr catapulted the Tigers' to a 47-29 cushion. Moments later, a layup from Jakobe Singleton got West Alabama's lead up to 20 until Delta State used an 8-2 run to make it a 14-point game with 5:30 left to play. For the remainder of the game, UWA maintained control as they cruised to a 67-51 win.
"The goal was to hold Delta State to six or less threes," coach Woodruff continued. "If we did that, I thought we had a good chance to hold them because they shoot the three as good as anyone in the country."
Parr led the way with a career-high 26 points on 71.4 percent shooting and 57.1 percent from three. Frederick added 17 points and 10 rebounds on 54 percent shooting while Thompson pulled down a game-high 12 rebounds.
West Alabama will end the week in Clinton, Mississippi on Saturday for a 4:00 p.m. matchup against Mississippi College.
