Shelton State defeats Lawson State in season finale
By WVUA 23 Digital Reporter Jeremy Bryant
Shelton State Community College men’s basketball has capped off the regular season on a high note as the Buccaneers look to correct their wrongs from last year’s postseason finish. Shelton State defeated Lawson State in a bruising fashion in a 81-55 win. The win brings the Shelton State overall record to 26-4 on the year.
Shelton has gone all year being one of the most competitive teams in the nation going into their last game being ranked as the N0. 15 community college in the nation. The Bucs are one of the more well rounded teams in the nation as they are Top-5 in points scored (1st), and points allowed per game (3rd), according to Alabama Community College Conference stats.
Shelton was coming off a surprising loss to a division rival that gave the Bucs a wake-up call after enjoying a 17-win streak. A loss to a middle of the pack team like Southern Union certainly lit a spark in Shelton as they amped up the pressure defensively hold a team to below 60 points for one of the rare times this season.
Willie Johnson and Antonio Thomas finished the game with a combine 26 points on 10-19 shooting from the field. a couple for the team did not have their most efficient game against Lawson State as Andres Burney and Jaykwon Walton took a combined 18 shots for 18 points between the two leading scorers for the team.
The last time these two teams faced each other the game was decided by just 10 points in a victory for Shelton. Burney and Walton surely would’ve wanted the same offensive output they put on display in the previous game. Both players scored at least 20 points against Lawson State in late January.
The Bucs can either win or tie as the division leaders as Wallace State concludes their season later today against Coastal Alabama-South as their record currently sits at 25-4 on the year. Shelton head coach Joseph Eatmon may have better chance to make a bigger run in the playoff tournament this time around as his team was knocked out last year by Chipola College after winning the south district championship.
One of the main shortcomings the Bucs had in last year’s run was the inability to generate meaningful production off the bench. This year they will have Walton who has been vital for the team being the featured sixth man on the second unit. He is the second leading scorer averaging just over 13 points per game and also adds some much needed depth to a team that could not go as deep into their lineups when faced with tougher competition.
The ACCC tournament will begin on March 14 and goes through March 19. Shelton’s State’s opponent has not been announced as the rest of the remaining schools finish their regular season.
