Albany State sweeps two from LeMoyne-Owen

ALBANY – Blaze Wallace’s pivotal three-pointer with five minutes remaining propelled Albany State to an 84-80 victory over LeMoyne-Owen College on Saturday at Albany State West. The Golden Rams never trailed again after Wallace’s shot, securing their third straight win. Earlier in the day, the Lady Golden Rams completed the sweep with a 60-46 win over the Lady Magicians.

The Golden Rams stormed to a 20-9 lead in the first half, but LeMoyne-Owen fought back to briefly take the lead. Cameron Evans answered with a three-pointer to regain the advantage at 31-30, and Shakur Poteat added a last-second basket to give Albany State a 37-34 halftime lead.

With 10 minutes left, the Magicians led 61-53, but Albany State began to rally. G’Shan Aldridge’s steal and assist to Poteat for a layup ignited the comeback. Moments later, Wallace scored a layup and then drained the go-ahead three-pointer. The Rams held firm down the stretch to seal the win.

Poteat led all scorers with 27 points. Wallace added a double-double with 16 points and 12 rebounds. Evans contributed 12 points, and Aldridge chipped in 10. The victory improves Albany State’s record to 8-6 overall and 5-2 in the SIAC.

In the women’s game, the Lady Golden Rams used a 9-2 run bridging the third and fourth quarters to pull away. Albany State led 27-24 at halftime before the Lady Magicians tied it early in the third quarter. Keyra Peterson, Na’Haviya Paxton, and Johanna Bell responded with consecutive jumpers to restore the lead.

Albany State stretched its advantage to 15 points in the fourth quarter when Peterson hit back-to-back jumpers. Alaya Grane’s layup with three minutes left pushed the lead to 18, effectively ending any comeback hopes.

Peterson dominated with 15 points and 18 rebounds for a double-double. Bell added 14 points, Grane scored 12, and Paxton notched a double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds. The Lady Golden Rams improved to 4-6 overall and 2-4 in the SIAC.

Albany State’s women will host Miles College on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. at the West Arena. Both teams will take on Savannah State on Saturday at the Jones Brothers HPER Gymnasium, with the women’s game tipping off at 2 p.m.