Men's Basketball resumes GCAC play with tournament rematches
The Wiley University men's basketball team will start the 2024 portion of its schedule with a three-game homestand featuring Gulf Coast Athletic Conference Tournament rematches against Rust College on Thursday and Tougaloo College on Saturday.
Both games will tip at 7 p.m. They will broadcast on HBCU Plus Channel 115 – which is a free application that can be downloaded on your phone, tablet or Smart TV. Live statistics will also be available.
The Wildcats (6-7, 2-3 GCAC) are looking to snap a three-game losing streak. They last played on December 19 in an exhibition game against NCAA Division I program Southern University. Wiley enters the second half ranked sixth in the conference – trailing Rust by a half-game.
Delor Johnson continues to lead the GCAC and ranks in the top 20 of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics with 22.5 points per game. Demarius Pitts ranks ninth in the conference with 15.5 points per game. He also ranks in the top 10 in steals per game (1.5). Jalen Bates leads the GCAC with 4.5 assists per game. Chukwuemeke Nwaoshai ranks just outside of the top 10 with 6.6 rebounds per game.
Wiley took two out of three games against Rust last season, including a 74-73 victory in the GCAC Quarterfinals. It leads the series 17-8, which dates back to 1988. Thursday will be the Bearcats' first visit to Alumni Gymnasium since 2017. The Wildcats dropped all three games against Tougaloo but two of them were decided by less than 10 points. They met in the semifinals with the Bulldogs prevailing 75-69 en route to their second-straight GCAC Tournament Championship. Wiley leads the series 14-12 but has only won four of the last 10.
Rust (5-5, 2-2 GCAC) has split their games. It played an exhibition game at Miles College on December 30. Khalil Brown leads the Bearcats with 13.1 points per game. He is one of four averaging double figures. Christopher Hood is averaging 12.9 points per game followed by Xavier Evans (11.3) and Jordin Jackson (10.5). Evans ranks third in the conference with a 58.8 shooting percentage. Catthadious Moore leads the team with 9.3 rebounds per game – which is fourth in the GCAC. However, he hasn't played since December 9. Evans, Hood and Moore rank in the top five in steals per game.
Tougaloo (12-3, 5-1) is on a nine-game winning streak since November 26. Keondre Montgomery ranks third in the GCAC with 19.9 points per game. Antonio Patterson follows with 12.3 points per game and ranks in the top 10 in blocks per game (1.0). John Wesley Taylor (2.8) and Landon Jefferies (2.7) rank in the top 10 in assists per game. The Bulldogs are second in the conference, trailing Talladega, which has only played three conference games.
For more coverage on the Wildcats visit Men's Basketball - Wiley University (wileyathletics.com)
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