Wallace fell to Faulkner State 57-52 in a sloppy affair on Saturday.

The loss was a bitter pill to swallow for a team hoping to celebrate a win in its final game of the season.

“It was pretty much us not playing well,” said Wallace coach Antoinette Blevins. “We got the shots. We didn’t make none.”

The Sun Chiefs frustrated the Patriots throughout the contest, preventing them from getting the big runs they have relied on in many of their wins this season.

There were 16 lead changes in the game before a pair of Demetria McWaine free throws sparked an 8-0 run — mostly from the free throw line — to give the Sun Chiefs a 53-47 lead with 1:31 remaining.

“You want to be able to pull off an ugly win,” said Faulkner State coach Linda Pitts. “I really think we came out with a totally different attitude tonight of just play hard, no matter what happens. We seemed to kind of make things go our way.”

A pair of Shauntay Goodwin free throws and a Sivon Pugh layup off a Shania O’Neal steal brought Wallace back within two with 53.2 second left, but the Patriots’ inconsistent shooting preventing them from reclaiming the lead.

The Sun Chiefs were not dazzling at the line down the stretch, but made enough to secure the win.

“Both teams pretty much stayed at the free throw line a lot tonight,” said Pitts. “I thought we did a poor job of free throw shooting.”

Keara Walker led the Sun Chiefs with 21 points. Jessica Lindsey and McWaine added 11 apiece.

Pugh scored 15 to lead the Patriots and O’Neal added 11.