The Selma Times-Journal

The prayer Phillip Johnson threw up as the buzzer sounded wasn’t answered.

Not completely due to that, the Wallace Community College-Selma men suffered a 54-51 loss to Lawson State Community College Saturday night.

WCCS trailed 52-51 with 2:59 left in the game after Justin Williams slammed home a fast-break basket to cap a 7-0 run.

Lawson forward Brandon Hampton hit two free throws to put the Cougars up by 3 with slightly less than two minutes left.

WCCS took a time out with 1.6 seconds left, and Johnson’s 3-pointer near the Patriots bench missed everything and ended the game. Despite that, he led the team with 12 points and hit key shots to keep the team in the ball game.

Sidney McNeary, Kent Jones and Justin Williams all had 10 points, and Williams also had eight rebounds.

Hampton dominated the first half with 18 points and scored a game-high 20.

Freshman guard Fontano Watters struggled all night with his shot but came up clutch in the end. He hit a 3-pointer that put the Cougars up 45-43 with 8:38 left in the game, and they held on to the lead for good.