LIVINGSTON, Ala. - The University of West Alabama Men's Basketball team is set to return home with a matchup against Union set for 7:00 p.m. on Thursday and a contest against Christian Brothers on Senior Day Saturday at 4:00 p.m.
UWA will honor Thaddeus Williams, Jaylen Lemons, Jalil Robinson, Marcellious Lockett, and Caleb McGill on Saturday as a part of their Senior Day ceremony which will begin before tip-off.
West Alabama (11-12, 7-10 GSC) currently sits in seventh place in the GSC standings after splitting their road trip last weekend. For Union (12-10, 8-8 GSC), they sit fifth in the conference after snapping a three-game losing streak with an emphatic, 102-85, win over AUM. Placing ninth in the GSC is Christian Brothers (9-13, 5-11 GSC) who enters this week's play winners of two of their last three games.
With 2.5 games separating the seventh and tenth spot in the GSC standings, this week's play stands as a colossal one for the Tigers. It's that time of the year where you need to be playing your best basketball and UWA will look to continue to trend in that direction with a pair of pivotal games against the Bulldogs and Buccaneers. Throughout the season, Thaddeus Williams has been West Alabama's No.1 scoring option and that hasn't changed, heading into play on Thursday. Williams is making a case for an All-GSC selection as the senior brings in a stat line of 15.0 points, 5.4 rebounds, 2.8 assists, and 1.0 steals per game. Alongside Williams, Charles Fofanah and Elliot Tulip continue to give the Tigers solid minutes on both ends of the floor, but someone who is beginning to stand out is Dadrevius Weathers.
With Rasean Frederick being sidelined for the season, Weathers has filled in for him at the five spot and is showing signs of growth by the game. The junior's size, athleticism, and energy is an X-Factor as he comes into Thursday's game against Union after averaging 8.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 2.0 blocks on 87.5 percent shooting through two games last week.
Back in January, West Alabama defeated Union in Jackson, Tennessee, 77-68. Since then, the Bulldogs have put together a 5-4 record off the strength of their leading scorer, CJ Jackson. Jackson has thrusted Union to the five spot in the conference as the 6'7" Guard ranks seventh in the GSC with 18.0 points per game on 48 | 36 | 77 percent shooting splits. Jackson is hard to keep out of the painted area in which guards such as Fofanah and Marcellious Lockett will be asked to do on Thursday for UWA. Alongside Jackson, Union possesses two more double digit per game scorers in Parker Applegate and Jeremiah Littlepage. Applegate pours in 13.3 points per game while Littlepage adds 11.6 to spearhead the Bulldogs' roster.
While West Alabama beat Union in their first matchup, the Tigers fell to the Bucs two days before that and now welcome CBU to Pruitt where they're looking for some much needed revenge. With the Bucs on the outside looking in of the GSC Tournament picture, West Alabama can bet on Christian Brothers playing with a lot of energy and effort on Saturday. While sitting at 5-11 in conference play, four of those losses have come by five points or less, and the Bucs have a talented roster. Tane Kirisome, Christian Thompson, Iman Kheirati, and Kyler Mann are all averaging double figure points with Kirisome leading the way with 12.7 per game. Led by Kheirati on the glass, CBU out rebounds their opponents by 12.1 rebounds per game but the biggest Achilles heel for the Bucs has been turnovers. Christian Brothers averages 16.1 turnovers per game which has been a crucial stat in a plethora of their losses.
Tip-off for Thursday's game against Union is set for 7:00 p.m. while Senior Day is set for Saturday at 4:00 p.m. against Christian Brothers.
