Men's Basketball stumbles late against Talladega

The Wiley University men's basketball team held a second-half lead against the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference leader Talladega College but were unable to hit key shots in a 70-63 loss Friday at Alumni Gymnasium.

The Wildcats (6-7, 2-3 GCAC) drop their third straight game and fall to 2-2 at home. It's their third loss when holding a lead in the second half. They outshot the Tornadoes 51.2 to 48.8 percent. Talladega dominated the boards out-rebounding the Wildcats 31-19. Wiley was unable to score second-chance points and gave up 11. Most of the fouls were called on Wiley as it was whistled for 26 and Talladega was called for 15. This gave the Tornadoes a sizable advantage as they made 25 of 38 free throws to 16 of 22 for the Wildcats.

Wiley built a 54-45 lead with 10:32 remaining in the game. Shamir Mosley hit a 3-pointer. Jalen Bates found Brayden Bradshaw open down low twice for layups. The Wildcats only hit one field goal in nearly eight minutes. They missed seven shots and were called for six fouls. Talladega took advantage and went on a 15-4 run with 11 points coming from free throws, taking a 60-58 lead.

Delor Johnson hit a jumper to tie it with 2:57 left in the game. The Tornadoes immediately retook the lead on a layup by D'Andre Boyd and didn't give it up. Bates had a chance to tie the game at the foul line but split his attempts. The Wildcats only hit one of their last six field goal attempts.

Johnson led the Wildcats with 22 points for his ninth game of scoring 20 or more points. Shamir Mosley and Demarius Pitts scored in double figures with 11 points. Bates led the team with eight rebounds, seven assists and three steals.

Wiley will close the 2023 portion of its schedule with an exhibition game at National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I program Southern University on Tuesday. It will resume GCAC play at home against Rust College on January 4.

For more coverage on the Wildcats visit Men's Basketball - Wiley University (wileyathletics.com)

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