LIVINGSTON, Ala. - The University of West Alabama Men's Basketball team is set for a two-game Mississippi road trip as the Tigers travel to Mississippi College on Thursday for a 7:30 p.m. contest before playing Delta State on Saturday at 4:00 p.m.

West Alabama (10-11, 6-9 GSC) comes into this week's play after falling to Trevecca Nazarene and Lee last week. Mississippi College (7-14, 3-12) enters after losses to Montevallo and AUM while Delta State (11-10, 7-8 GSC) comes in on a five-game winning streak with their last victory coming over Montevallo.

It's officially crunch time for UWA as seven games remain in the regular season with the Tigers currently sitting in eighth place in the GSC standings. West Alabama holds the eighth spot by 1.0 games with Lee right behind them, making this week's matchups against the Choctaws and Statesmen that much bigger. 21 games into the year, UWA is averaging 69.6 points per game while allowing 69.5 but have struggled with their shooting splits, shooting 42.1 percent from the floor and 33.2 percent from three. 

Thaddeus Williams remains the engine that runs West Alabama's offense but the emergence of Jaylen Lemons, as of late, has been encouraging to see. After leading the team in scoring last season, Lemons has been up and down for the Tigers in 2024-25 but has put together a solid stretch of games in his last two outings. Last week, the senior Guard scored 17 points against Trevecca Nazarene before dropping 22 against the Flames to get his scoring average up to 11.5 points per game. If Lemons can remain consistent next to Williams and Marcellious Lockett, that would make for a talented three-guard lineup that could lead the Tigers into the GSC tournament.

Mississippi State and West Alabama played each other back in December where UWA pulled out a 78-73 win. The Choctaws' Rashad Bolden scored a game-high 37 points on 25 shot attempts in that game and he comes into the rematch against West Alabama, playing his best basketball. Bolden is known as one of the most gifted scorers in the country and enters Thursday's game averaging 36.3 points in the last three games, catapulting him to 26.2 points per game on the season which ranks second in the country. The junior was named the GSC Player of the Week after his scoring outburst last week but despite his scoring prowess, Mississippi College is still struggling to win games. The Choctaws have lost 10 of 11 games as they continue to search for pieces on their roster to help Bolden in the scoring department.

Delta State is a team that is surging at the right time. The Statesmen enters Saturday's game against the Tigers winners of their last five games with victories coming over Mississippi College, Christian Brothers, Union, AUM, and Montevallo. 

DSU possesses one of the most talented scoring duos in the country in Chris Terrell and Keithean Brooks. Terrell leads the team in scoring with 21.1 points per game while Brooks is averaging 20.2. While both excel at scoring, they score their points in different ways as Terrell is a legit three-level scorer while Brooks is more of a physical slasher that likes to get his points at the free throw line. Brooks didn't play against the Tigers in their matchup earlier this season but Terrell nearly willed the short handed Statesmen to a road win as he scored a game-high 34 points. West Alabama took the first matchup by three, and now we're set for an exciting rematch in Cleveland on Saturday.

Thursday's matchup against Mississippi College is set for 7:30 p.m. while Saturday's contest against Delta State is set for 4:00 p.m.