Men's Basketball aims for 2024 GCAC Championship
The Wiley University men's basketball team heads to Tuscaloosa, Alabama, seeking its third conference tournament title at the 2024 Hope Credit Union Gulf Coast Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Championship at Stillman College's Birthright Alumni Hall.
The Wildcats (12-13) earned the fifth seed after finishing 8-9 in GCAC play. They will face No. 4 Fisk University in the quarterfinals at 7 p.m. Friday. The winner will advance to the semifinals and face the winner between No. 1 Tougaloo College and No. 8 University of the Virgin Islands or No. 9 Dillard University.
All the championship games will air on the GCAC channel on HBCU Plus, which can be streamed online or the application can be downloaded on mobile devices or Smart TVs.
Wiley will take the court for the first time since February 10. It forfeited its final two regular season games for disciplinary reasons. The Wildcats enter Friday's quarterfinal winning four of its last five games.
Delor Johnson finished the regular season as the GCAC scoring leader – averaging 21.8 points per game. He surpassed 30 points twice and 20 points fourteen times. Johnson also ranked in the top 10 with 1.7 steals per game. He is a two-time GCAC Player of the Week and won Newcomer of the Week.
Demarius Pitts ranked in the top 15 of the conference with 13.1 points and 1.3 steals per game. He scored 30 points in an overtime victory over Dillard on December 1 and had four games with 20 or points. Pitts was GCAC Newcomer of the Week during the first week of the season and won Player of the Week for November 27-December 3.
Jalen Bates finished the regular season as the GCAC leader with 4.5 assists per game. He had three or more assists in 19 games. Bates also ranked second with 2.3 steals per game, posting three or more in 12 games. He recorded a double-double at No. 4 Langston University on November 22.
Tayvion Fisher missed most of the first half of the season due to injury. He became a spark off the bench in the second half. He averaged 16.2 points per game in his last nine. Devon Barshow also made valuable contributions as a reserve, scoring in double figures in seven games and notching two double-doubles.
Fisk (13-15) ended the regular season on a three-game losing streak. Blake Goodman leads the Bulldogs with 17.6 points per game but missed nine games due to injury. Jayden Lockett follows with 17 points per game. Michael Ashley leads the team with 9.4 rebounds per game.
The Wildcats and Bulldogs split their regular season meetings with each team winning on its home court. Friday will be the first time they've met in the postseason. The schools have split their four meetings since Wiley joined the GCAC in 2022.
Wiley has reached the conference semifinals in four of its last five appearances. It won the Red River Athletic Conference Tournament in 2007 and 2014.
For more coverage on the Wildcats visit Men's Basketball - Wiley University (wileyathletics.com)
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