LBWCC’s home game tomorrow night against Bishop State just got that much more important.

The Saints just came off of a 84-81 ACCC South Conference win over Wallace-Selma Tuesday night to improve to 9-2 in league play.

Currently, the Saints are one game ahead of Chattahoochee Valley and are in first place.

In order to win the conference, LBWCC must win out, Saints coach Ricky Knight said.

Tomorrow night, the Saints, who are on a six-game win streak, host Bishop State Community College to start the last three final regular-season games.

On Jan. 23, the Saints lost to BSCC 57-55 in Mobile.

After tomorrow night’s game, the Saints visit Enterprise State and Jefferson Davis next Monday and Thursday, respectively.

Knight said the men are playing well, but need to improve on the defensive end. Since January, the Saints have allowed an average of 74 points per game.

In their win against Wallace-Selma Monday, the Saints were up by 13 and all of a sudden, Selma cut the lead by six points.

“If we don’t contain better on the defensive end of the floor and get stops, then we’ll have a problem at the state tournament,” Knight said.

LBWCC is just two games over .500 at 12-10.

The big key this season so far for the Saints has been their defense, despite recent play. Before Christmas, LBWCC allowed an average of around 60 points.

“Defense was our strength for us,” Knight said. “We’ve fallen off the defensive end. It seems like the longer you play defense, the more comfortable you get in it.”

On the offensive end, the Saints have seen an incredible amount of help from their bench players.

Knight said they have really carried the load for the team.

“Our bench has really helped us,” he said. “When we come in with our kids off the bench, we can play in games. Our bench players can come in and give us that spurt we need offensively or defensively. They can give us that strength we need to get us back on track. Our bench really has answers on both ends of the court.”

Knight said Malcolm Snyder, Troy Manasse and Victor Benson all have played well recently.

In women’s action, the Lady Saints are also trying to win these last two games as they are vying to finish in the top six of the conference, which gives them a berth to the state tournament. The same rule applies for the men.

“We’ve got a chance to win two,” Knight said.

The Lady Saints beat BSCC, who they also play Thursday, 52-31 on Jan. 23. The last time the women played ESCC, they lost 65-56.

“We just need to make sure we work hard these next two games to get two wins,” Knight said. “If we get two wins, then we’ll see what happens to see if we make it to the state tournament or not.”

Tip off tomorrow night for the women is at 5:30. The men follow at 7:30.