Guest abovetherim Posted January 18, 2008 Report Posted January 18, 2008 Jan. 17 Scores: At UTSA 81, Central Arkansas 77 (FSN-Southwest) SAN ANTONIO, Texas – Freshman JohnMark Ludwick made his first career start a memorable one, draining 6-of-6 from behind the 3-point line en route to a season-high 23 points to help lead UTSA to an 81-77 victory over Central Arkansas Thursday night at the Convocation Center. Ludwick, who started in place of the injured Travis Gabbidon, led four Roadrunners in double figures in the regionally-televised game on FOX Sports Southwest. Senior Melvin Smith poured in a season-high 20 points on 9-of-12 from the floor, while senior Isaiah Allen added 14 points on the strength of a 7-for-8 performance from the free throw line. Freshman Devin Gibson posted his second double-double of the season with 10 points and a season-high 13 assists, one shy of the school record, as UTSA improved to 7-8 overall and 1-1 in Southland Conference play. York Sims and Nate Bowie paced Central Arkansas (11-6, 1-2 SLC) with 24 and 22 points, respectively, while Landrell Brewer and Brian Marks pulled down eight and seven rebounds, respectively. Neither team led by more than 10 points in a tightly-contested matchup that came down to the wire. Trailing 78-72 with 21 seconds left, Sims converted a pair of free throws and answered a UTSA freebie with a layup with 10 ticks remaining. On the ensuing inbounds play, UCA’s Ryan Williams came up with a steal and fed the ball to Bowie who missed a trey from the right wing. Williams then came up with the loose ball off the long rebound and was fouled with four seconds left. He made the first free throw, but his intentional miss on the second did not hit the cylinder, giving the ball to the Roadrunners. Smith was fouled on the inbounds and made 1-of-2 free throws to seal the win for UTSA. The Roadrunners built a 10-point lead midway through the second half as a jumper by senior Keith Spencer capped a 9-2 run. The Bears fought back to within 62-61 on aq Sims jumper at the 5:51 mark, but never got any closer. UCA jumped out to a 7-2 lead early in the first half, but managed to tie the game just one time, 33-33 with 1:43 left in the half, the rest of the game The game also marked the return of senior Andrew Francis, who scored four points and grabbed two rebounds in eight minutes of action, to the lineup since Nov. 9 when he was injured in the second half of the season-opening win over Hardin-Simmons. The Roadrunners host Northwestern State at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 19. NOTE - UTSA announced that junior forward Travis Gabbidon will miss the remainder of the season due to a broken right foot. The Roadrunners also played without the services of junior guards Orrin Greer (knee) and Omar Johnson (leg). Sam Houston State 64, at McNeese State 49 LAKE CHARLES, La. – Overcoming a slow start and a stingy Cowboy defense that limited the Bearkats to 34 percent shooting from the floor, Sam Houston State picked up a 64-49 victory over McNeese State. The contest was the Bearkats’ first Southland Conference road game of the season. Shamir McDaniel led SHSU with 14 points. DeLuis Ramirez added 13 points and Ashton Mitchell scored 11. Sam Houston outscored McNeese 44-27 in the second half after their lowest scoring first game of the season. The Kats trailed 22-20 at halftime. The victory ended a three-year drought against the Cowboys as McNeese State had won the last three meetings with the Bearkats. Sam Houston upped its record to 14-2 for the season and 2-1 in Southland Conference action. “We got off to a bad start and couldn’t get into a groove,†Head Coach Bob Marlin said. “But we battled back with good defense and some big rebounds. Everybody stepped up and made big plays down the stretch. That’s the kind of kids that we have.†John Gardiner had nine points, nine rebounds, and three blocked shots. Ryan Bright also pulled down nine rebounds and made five steals. Sam Houston limited McNeese to 27 percent shooting and forced 24 Cowboy turnovers. McNeese jumped out to a 14-2 lead in the first nine minutes. Sam Houston went on a 10-2 run to cut the Cowboy margin to four points, 16-12, on a Reggie Rawlins field goal with 5:30 in the half. Three McNeese State baskets put the Cowboys back up by 10, 22-12, but the Bearkats bounced back again with eight unanswered points to go into the locker room at intermission down by only 22-20. Jeremy Thomas started the run with a field goal with 2:18 to play. John Gardiner added two free throws and a field goal. Rawlins scored two free throws with 36 seconds remaining. Ashton Mitchell gave Sam Houston its first lead of the game with a three-point basket 1:05 into the second half to put the Kats up 23-22. McNeese went back ahead 29-27 two minutes later. Ryan Bright started a 10-0 run with a field goal. Gardiner’s tip-in gave Sam Houston a 10-point lead, 37-27 with 12 to play. The closest McNeese came the rest of the way was four points, 39-35, with 10 to play. Another three-point basket by Mitchell put SHSU up by 11, 51-40, with 5:09 to go. Two free throws by McDaniel with 1:53 to play gave Sam Houston a 56-43 lead. Sam Houston's two-game Southland Conference road swing continues Saturday at 7 p.m. as the Bearkats take on the Lamar Cardinals in Beaumont. At Stephen F. Austin 81, Lamar 75 NACOGDOCHES, Texas - Josh Alexander scored a season-high 26 points Thursday to lead the best long-range shooting performance of the season as the Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks defeated Lamar, 81-75, in the William R. Johnson Coliseum. Alexander hit 6-of-11 3-point field goals to pace a 53.3-percent effort by SFA behind the arc. With the win, the Lumberjacks improve to 14-2 on the season and 2-1 in Southland Conference play. Lamar falls to 7-8 overall with a 1-1 mark in league action. Lamar took what had been a 19-point lead in the second half and whittled it down to three with 17 seconds left in the game. The Cardinals took advantage of injuries to SFA point guards Eric Bell and Gerald Fonzie to pressure the Lumberjacks into a rash of turnovers and close the gap. But freshman point guard Preston Davis shouldered the load in the closing seconds, helping break the Lamar press and going 2-for-4 from the foul line. After Davis' second free throw gave SFA a four-point lead at 79-75 with 15 seconds left, Alexander sealed the game by ripping off a steal at midcourt and driving to the basket, where he was fouled. As good as Alexander was from 3-point range, he was even better from 15 feet out, especially when it counted. He was 6-for-6 from the foul stripe, including the final two points of the game with five seconds left. SFA opened the game with a 52-percent shooting effort in the first half and went to the locker room with a 38-24 advantage, after leading by as many as 17. The Lumberjacks held Lamar to 32 percent from the field in the opening frame, including an 0-for-5 effort from 3-point range. The Cardinals heated up to 58 percent in the second half, behind a 5-of-10 performance on threes, as they climbed back into the game. The six 3-pointers for Alexander were a season-high and one off a career-high. He hit his first three shots of the game, all three from 3-point range. Junior center Matt Kingsley joined Alexander in double digits with 17 points on 5-for-7 shooting. Kingsley was also 7-for-8 at the free throw line. Fonzie added 10 points on 2-of-4 shooting from 3-point range. Junior forward Nick Shaw pulled down a game-high seven rebounds to lead an effort that saw SFA beat Lamar, 34-27, on the boards. Bell dished out nine assists before being forced off the floor with an injury midway through the second half. Fonzie chipped in with five assists, tying a season-high, and ripped off a team-best four steals. SFA will host McNeese State Saturday. The Cowboys are 7-7 on the year after dropping a 64-49 decision at home against Sam Houston State Thusday. Saturday's game is set for a 3 p.m. start. Northwestern State 67, at A&M-Corpus Christi 58 CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – Northwestern State broke some new ground Thursday night and stayed unbeaten early in the Southland Conference basketball season, posting a solid 67-58 win at defending champion Texas A&M-Corpus Christi . Winning for the third straight game, the Demons (7-10 overall, 3-0 in the SLC) posted their best defensive performance of the year while winning on the road for the first time in nine tries. The Islanders (3-12, 0-2) shot just 32 percent and their final total was 14 points under the previous defensive low posted by the Demons. NSU also posted a season-best 17-rebound advantage, whipping TAMCC 45-27 on the boards. The win left Northwestern as the only SLC team unbeaten early in the 16-game league schedule, heading into a Saturday afternoon visit to Texas-San Antonio. The SLC’s leading scorer, NSU senior forward Trey Gilder, had 17 points while freshman Devin White posted a career-best 13. Senior forward Colby Bargeman added 10 points and a team-best 7 rebounds. The Demons never trailed after the first six minutes and led by as many as 13 points, overcoming 25 turnovers, 15 by halftime. “We did some great things tonight rebounding and defending,†said ninth-year Demons’ coach Mike McConathy. †The turnover part was bad, but we compensated with our effort and we really made it tough on them to score. It was a pretty physical game and we showed good toughness.†The Islanders got 20 points from freshman forward Justin Reynolds, son of the Demons’ all-time scoring leader, Billy Reynolds. TAMCC’s 7-foot center, Chris Daniels, last year’s SLC Player of the Year and the Islanders’ leading scorer and rebounder, did not score from the floor and posted only 2 points and 2 rebounds in 23 minutes as White, Jerry Moody, Kalem Porterie (a career-best 8 points and 6 rebounds) and the duo of Bargeman and Gilder clogged up the interior defensively. “We did a great job keeping him contained. A lot of it had to do with the scouting report and the players listening to what our coaches said, and then putting it into action,†said McConathy. “When you can take away the other team’s leading scorer, a guy of Chris Daniels’ talent, it’s a major step for you in winning the game.†TAMCC sliced the Northwestern lead down to 61-56 with 2:14 left, but the Demons hit their last four free throws and didn’t allow a field goal in the last 3:45 to blunt the comeback bid and pick up their first road win since last season. “The funny thing is I never really think about road wins vs. home wins. We never even talked about that, and we’ve always been a team that has been good on the road,†said McConathy. “ The key thing was just coming out and playing to our capabilities and giving the kind of effort we did. We’re playing more confidently now, but we have a lot to improve upon.†NSU sank 81 percent (26-32) on free throws, with Gilder making 7 of 8, and shot a solid 46.5 percent from the floor. The Demons blocked 7 shots, with White getting three swats. White’s 13 points gives Northwestern 11 players, best in the nation, who have scored at least 10 points once this season. Southeastern La. 84, at Texas State 83 SAN MARCOS, Texas – Kevyn Green scored 23 of his game-high 27 points in the first half and Southeastern Louisiana turned in one of its best shooting performances of the season as it built a 14-point lead and held off Texas State, 84-83, in a Southland Conference game Thursday at Strahan Coliseum. Patterson's Warrell Span added 20 points while Tavaris Nance had 14 and Patrick Sullivan 10 for Southeastern (10-6, 2-1 SLC), which won its ninth straight game over Texas State by shooting 30-for-49 (61.2 percent) from the floor including a scorching 74 percent (17-for-23) in the first half. "It wasn't a great night for us because they (Texas State) create some tough matchup problems," Southeastern head coach Jim Yarbrough said. "They put in a bunch of shooters on us and we had to go small to give us some better matchups defensively. "We kept attacking (the basket), we kept making buckets and it was a game of attrition. If we make some free throws, we might win this one going away. But, on the road with the schedule we have, you can't be upset about a victory like this." Green, who finished 9-for-15 from the floor, tied a career-high with six 3-pointers as Southeastern quickly erased a 7-0 deficit and raced out to a 45-36 lead at halftime. The Lions took control of the game in the first half with 13-2 run, capped by David Ndoumba's putback that gave Southeastern a 29-22 lead at the 6:40 mark. The Lions extended their lead to 60-46 after Dekyron Nicks sank the second of two free throws, but Texas State (8-8, 1-2 SLC) rallied behind the play of Brandon Bush and Chris Agwumaro to get as close as two four times in the final 4:19. Southeastern, which finished 17-for-34 from the free throw line, got three free throws in the final 22 seconds from Nicks, including a pair with 8.4 left that put the Lions ahead, 84-80. Bush led Texas State with 19 points and nine rebounds while Agwumaro came off the bench to score 11 of his 13 points in the second half. Dylan Moseley added 12 points for the Bobcats, who outscored Southeastern, 47-39, in the second half and held a 34-33 advantage on the glass. Southeastern returns to action on Saturday when it faces UT Arlington, a 69-60 winner over Nicholls State, in a 4 p.m. matchup at Texas Hall. At UT Arlington 69, Nicholls State 60 ARLINGTON, Texas - - Needing a league victory to get its season turned back around, the UT Arlington men's basketball turned to its seniors Thursday night at Texas Hall. Sparked by the shooting of guard Rod Epps and the inside play of forward Larry Posey and center Jermaine Griffin, the Mavericks led from start-finish and captured a 69-60 victory against Nicholls State in a Southland Conference game at Texas Hall. Epps finished with a team-high 19 points on 5-for-7 shooting, including four 3-pointers. Griffin and Posey combined for 17 points and 17 rebounds. UTA (11-4, 1-2 in the SLC) not only earned its first league victory, the Mavericks extended their school-record home-court win streak to 15 games. UTA held the Colonels (6-12, 1-2) to 34.5 percent shooting from the field and 28.6 shooting from the 3-point line. Nicholls State entered the game as one of the best shooting teams in the SLC. "We played hard on both ends of the floor," UTA coach Scott Cross said. "I was proud of the way we took the lead and never really let them get back in it. We looked pretty good at times, and we got good effort from a lot of different guys. It was just what we needed to get our confidence back and get a good win in from the home crowd." UTA jumped to an 11-2 lead with 14:31 left in the first half on the strength of an Epps 3-pointer and four points by Posey. Each time the Colonels crawled within four, the Mavs held off the charge. A spurt just before halftime gave UTA a 32-18 lead. In the second half, Nicholls got no closer than seven. UTA was 22-for-46 (47.8 percent) from the field and 7-for-18 from the 3-point line. The Mavericks beat Nicholls State, 36-16, on the boards.
Guest abovetherim Posted January 18, 2008 Report Posted January 18, 2008 UTSA holds off Central Arkansas, 81-77 SAN ANTONIO — Freshman JohnMark Ludwick made his first career start a memorable one, draining 6-of-6 from behind the 3-point line en route to a season-high 23 points to help lead UTSA to an 81-77 victory over Central Arkansas on Thursday night at the Convocation Center. Ludwick, who started in place of the injured Travis Gabbidon, led four Roadrunners in double figures in the regionally-televised game on FOX Sports Southwest. Senior Melvin Smith poured in a season-high 20 points on 9-of-12 from the floor, while senior Isaiah Allen added 14 points on the strength of a 7-for-8 performance from the free throw line. Freshman Devin Gibson posted his second double-double of the season with 10 points and a season-high 13 assists, one shy of the school record, as UTSA improved to 7-8 overall and 1-1 in Southland Conference play. York Sims and Nate Bowie paced the Bears (11-6, 1-2 SLC) with 24 and 22 points, respectively, while Landrell Brewer and Brian Marks pulled down eight and seven rebounds, respectively. Neither team led by more than 10 points in a tightly-contested matchup that came down to the wire. Trailing 78-72 with 21 seconds left, Sims converted a pair of free throws and answered a UTSA freebie with a layup with 10 ticks remaining. On the ensuing inbounds play, UCA’s Ryan Williams came up with a steal and fed the ball to Bowie who missed a trey from the right wing. Williams then came up with the loose ball off the long rebound and was fouled with four seconds left. He made the first free throw, but his intentional miss on the second did not hit the cylinder, giving the ball to the Roadrunners. Smith was fouled on the inbounds and made 1-of-2 free throws to seal the win for UTSA. The Roadrunners built a 10-point lead midway through the second half as a jumper by senior Keith Spencer capped a 9-2 run. The Bears fought back to within 62-61 on a Sims jumper at the 5:51 mark, but never got any closer. UCA jumped out to a 7-2 lead early in the first half, but managed to tie the game just one time, 33-33 with 1:43 left in the half, the rest of the game The game also marked the return of senior Andrew Francis, who scored four points and grabbed two rebounds in eight minutes of action, to the lineup since Nov. 9 when he was injured in the second half of the season-opening win over Hardin-Simmons. The Roadrunners host Northwestern State at 2 p.m. on Saturday. NOTE: UTSA announced that junior forward Travis Gabbidon will miss the remainder of the season due to a broken right foot. The Roadrunners also played without the services of junior guards Orrin Greer (knee) and Omar Johnson (leg).
Guest abovetherim Posted January 18, 2008 Report Posted January 18, 2008 Sam Houston tops McNeese 62-49 LAKE CHARLES, LA – Overcoming a slow start and a stingy Cowboy defense that limited the Bearkats to 34 percent shooting from the floor, Sam Houston State picked up a 64-49 victory over McNeese State. The contest was the Bearkats’ first Southland Conference road game of the season. Shamir McDaniel led SHSU with 14 points. DeLuis Ramirez added 13 points and Ashton Mitchell scored 11. Sam Houston outscored McNeese 44-27 in the second half after their lowest scoring first game of the season. The Kats trailed 22-20 at halftime. The victory ended a three-year drought against the Cowboys as McNeese State had won the last three meetings with the Bearkats. Sam Houston upped its record to 14-2 for the season and 2-1 in Southland Conference action. “We got off to a bad start and couldn’t get into a groove,†Head Coach Bob Marlin said. “But we battled back with good defense and some big rebounds. Everybody stepped up and made big plays down the stretch. That’s the kind of kids that we have.†John Gardiner had nine points, nine rebounds, and three blocked shots. Ryan Bright also pulled down nine rebounds and made five steals. Sam Houston limited McNeese to 27 percent shooting and forced 24 Cowboy turnovers. McNeese jumped out to a 14-2 lead in the first nine minutes. Sam Houston went on a 10-2 run to cut the Cowboy margin to four points, 16-12, on a Reggie Rawlins field goal with 5:30 in the half. Three McNeese State baskets put the Cowboys back up by 10, 22-12, but the Bearkats bounced back again with eight unanswered points to go into the locker room at intermission down by only 22-20. Jeremy Thomas started the run with a field goal with 2:18 to play. John Gardiner added two free throws and a field goal. Rawlins scored two free throws with 36 seconds remaining.= Ashton Mitchell gave Sam Houston its first lead of the game with a three-point basket 1:05 into the second half to put the Kats up 23-22. McNeese went back ahead 29-27 two minutes later. Ryan Bright started a 10-0 run with a field goal. Gardiner’s tip-in gave Sam Houston a 10-point lead, 37-27 with 12 to play. The closest McNeese came the rest of the way was four points, 39-35, with 10 to play. Another three-point basket by Mitchell put SHSU up by 11, 51-40, with 5:09 to go. Two free throws by McDaniel with 1:53 to play gave Sam Houston a 56-43 lead. "Coach Marlin told us not to give up,because there was a lot of timeremaining," Ramirez said. "Our shots were going to start falling. We just remained confident and stayed focused. Things started to get brighter in the second half." Sam Houston's two-game Southland Conference road swing continues Saturday at 7 p.m. as the Bearkats take on the Lamar Cardinals in Beaumont.
Guest abovetherim Posted January 18, 2008 Report Posted January 18, 2008 Junior forward Josh Alexander scored a season-high 26 points to lead SFA past Lamar Thursday Men's Basketball Home SFA Outguns Lamar Lumberjacks notch 81-75 win behind hot 3-point shooting Jan. 17, 2008 NACOGDOCHES, Texas - Josh Alexander scored a season-high 26 points Thursday to lead the best long-range shooting performance of the season as the Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks defeated Lamar, 81-75, in the William R. Johnson Coliseum. Alexander hit 6-of-11 3-point field goals to pace a 53.3-percent effort by SFA behind the arc. With the win, the Lumberjacks improve to 14-2 on the season and 2-1 in Southland Conference play. Lamar falls to 7-8 overall with a 1-1 mark in league action. Lamar took what had been a 19-point lead in the second half and whittled it down to three with 17 seconds left in the game. The Cardinals took advantage of injuries to SFA point guards Eric Bell and Gerald Fonzie to pressure the Lumberjacks into a rash of turnovers and close the gap. But freshman point guard Preston Davis shouldered the load in the closing seconds, helping break the Lamar press and going 2-for-4 from the foul line. After Davis' second free throw gave SFA a four-point lead at 79-75 with 15 seconds left, Alexander sealed the game by ripping off a steal at midcourt and driving to the basket, where he was fouled. As good as Alexander was from 3-point range, he was even better from 15 feet out, especially when it counted. He was 6-for-6 from the foul stripe, including the final two points of the game with five seconds left. SFA opened the game with a 52-percent shooting effort in the first half and went to the locker room with a 38-24 advantage, after leading by as many as 17. The Lumberjacks held Lamar to 32 percent from the field in the opening frame, including an 0-for-5 effort from 3-point range. The Cardinals heated up to 58 percent in the second half, behind a 5-of-10 performance on threes, as they climbed back into the game. The six 3-pointers for Alexander were a season-high and one off a career-high. He hit his first three shots of the game, all three from 3-point range. Junior center Matt Kingsley joined Alexander in double digits with 17 points on 5-for-7 shooting. Kingsley was also 7-for-8 at the free throw line. Fonzie added 10 points on 2-of-4 shooting from 3-point range. Junior forward Nick Shaw pulled down a game-high seven rebounds to lead an effort that saw SFA beat Lamar, 34-27, on the boards. Bell dished out nine assists before being forced off the floor with an injury midway through the second half. Fonzie chipped in with five assists, tying a season-high, and ripped off a team-best four steals. SFA will host McNeese State Saturday. The Cowboys are 7-7 on the year after dropping a 64-49 decision at home against Sam Houston State Thusday. Saturday's game is set for a 3 p.m. start.
Guest abovetherim Posted January 18, 2008 Report Posted January 18, 2008 Defense, rebounding lift Demons over Islanders, to 3-0 SLC start 1/17/2008 HOOPS: Demons hold Islanders to 32% shooting, pick up first road win and take sole possession of SLC lead three games into 16-game slate CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – Northwestern State broke some new ground Thursday night and stayed unbeaten early in the Southland Conference basketball season, posting a solid 67-58 win at defending champion Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. Winning for the third straight game, the Demons (7-10 overall, 3-0 in the SLC) posted their best defensive performance of the year while winning on the road for the first time in nine tries. The Islanders (3-12, 0-2) shot just 32 percent and their final total was 14 points under the previous defensive low posted by the Demons. NSU also posted a season-best 18-rebound advantage, whipping TAMCC 45-27 on the boards. The win left Northwestern as the only SLC team unbeaten early in the 16-game league schedule, heading into a Saturday afternoon visit to Texas-San Antonio. The SLC’s leading scorer, NSU senior forward Trey Gilder, had 17 points while freshman Devin White posted a career-best 13. Senior forward Colby Bargeman added 10 points and a team-best 7 rebounds. The Demons never trailed after the first six minutes and led by as many as 13 points, overcoming 25 turnovers, 15 by halftime. “We did some great things tonight rebounding and defending,†said ninth-year Demons’ coach Mike McConathy. †The turnover part was bad, but we compensated with our effort and we really made it tough on them to score. It was a pretty physical game and we showed good toughness.†The Islanders got 20 points from freshman forward Justin Reynolds, son of the Demons’ all-time scoring leader, Billy Reynolds. TAMCC’s 7-foot center, Chris Daniels, last year’s SLC Player of the Year and the Islanders’ leading scorer and rebounder, did not score from the floor and posted only 2 points and 2 rebounds in 23 minutes as White, Jerry Moody, Kalem Porterie (a career-best 8 points and 6 rebounds) and the duo of Bargeman and Gilder clogged up the interior defensively. “We did a great job keeping him contained. A lot of it had to do with the scouting report and the players listening to what our coaches said, and then putting it into action,†said McConathy. “When you can take away the other team’s leading scorer, a guy of Chris Daniels’ talent, it’s a major step for you in winning the game.†TAMCC sliced the Northwestern lead down to 61-56 with 2:14 left, but the Demons hit their last four free throws and didn’t allow a field goal in the last 3:45 to blunt the comeback bid and pick up their first road win since last season. “The funny thing is I never really think about road wins vs. home wins. We never even talked about that, and we’ve always been a team that has been good on the road,†said McConathy. “ The key thing was just coming out and playing to our capabilities and giving the kind of effort we did. We’re playing more confidently now, but we have a lot to improve upon.†NSU sank 81 percent (26-32) on free throws, with Gilder making 7 of 8, and shot a solid 46.5 percent from the floor. The Demons blocked 7 shots, with White getting three swats. White’s 13 points gives Northwestern 11 players, best in the nation, who have scored at least 10 points once this season.
Guest abovetherim Posted January 18, 2008 Report Posted January 18, 2008 LIONS START OUT STRONG, HOLD OFF TEXAS STATE 84-83 SAN MARCOS, Texas - Kevyn Green scored 23 of his game-high 27 points in the first half and Southeastern Louisiana turned in one of its best shooting performances of the season as it built a 14-point lead and held off Texas State, 84-83, in a Southland Conference game Thursday at Strahan Coliseum. Patterson's Warrell Span added 20 points while Tavaris Nance had 14 and Patrick Sullivan 10 for Southeastern (10-6, 2-1 SLC), which won its ninth straight game over Texas State by shooting 30-for-49 (61.2 percent) from the floor including a scorching 74 percent (17-for-23) in the first half. "It wasn't a great night for us because they (Texas State) create some tough matchup problems," Southeastern head coach Jim Yarbrough said. "They put in a bunch of shooters on us and we had to go small to give us some better matchups defensively. "We kept attacking (the basket), we kept making buckets and it was a game of attrition. If we make some free throws, we might win this one going away. But, on the road with the schedule we have, you can't be upset about a victory like this." Green, who finished 9-for-15 from the floor, tied a career-high with six 3-pointers as Southeastern quickly erased a 7-0 deficit and raced out to a 45-36 lead at halftime. The Lions took control of the game in the first half with 13-2 run, capped by David Ndoumba's putback that gave Southeastern a 29-22 lead at the 6:40 mark. The Lions extended their lead to 60-46 after Dekyron Nicks sank the second of two free throws, but Texas State (8-8, 1-2 SLC) rallied behind the play of Brandon Bush and Chris Agwumaro to get as close as two four times in the final 4:19. Southeastern, which finished 17-for-34 from the free throw line, got three free throws in the final 22 seconds from Nicks, including a pair with 8.4 left that put the Lions ahead, 84-80. Bush led Texas State with 19 points and nine rebounds while Agwumaro came off the bench to score 11 of his 13 points in the second half. Dylan Moseley added 12 points for the Bobcats, who outscored Southeastern, 47-39, in the second half and held a 34-33 advantage on the glass. Southeastern returns to action on Saturday when it faces UT Arlington, a 69-60 winner over Nicholls State, in a 4 p.m. matchup at Texas Hall. SOUTHEASTERN LOUISIANA (10-6, 2-1 SLC) Green 9-15 3-5 27; Span 7-9 6-8 20; Nance 6-9 2-7 14; Sullivan 4-5 2-4 10; Nicks 1-3 4-10 7; Cyprian 2-5 0-0 4; Ndoumba 1-3 0-0 2; Austin 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 30-49 17-34 84. TEXAS STATE (8-8, 1-2 SLC) Bush 7-13 5-8 19; Agwumaro 4-6 3-4 13; Moseley 4-6 3-3 12; Sloan 4-7 0-1 8; White 2-8 2-4 6; Fullenwider 2-2 0-0 6; Gough 3-5 0-0 6; Thomas 3-5 0-1 6; Benson 1-1 0-1 3; Johnson 1-1 0-1 2; Jefferson 1-8 0-0 2; Holder 0-1 0-0 0; Taylor 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 32-63 13-23 83. Halftime - SLU 45, Texas State 36. 3-point goals - SLU 7-15 (Green 6-10; Nicks 1-1; Cyprian 0-3; Ndoumba 0-1), Texas State 6-13 (Fullenwider 2-2; Agwumaro 2-3; Benson 1-1; Moseley 1-2; Jefferson 0-2; Holder 0-1; White 0-2). Fouled out - Bush. Rebounds - SLU 33 (Nance 7), Texas State 34 (Bush 9). Assists - SLU 20 (Nicks 6), Texas State 15 (Thomas 4). Technical fouls - None. Total fouls - SLU 23, Texas State 27. A - 1,459.
Guest abovetherim Posted January 18, 2008 Report Posted January 18, 2008 MAVERICK MEN BOUNCE BACK WITH LEAGUE VICTORY UT Arlington uses defense to extend school-record 15-game home win streak, 69-60, against Nicholls State. Jan. 17, 2008 ARLINGTON, Texas - - Needing a league victory to get its season turned back around, the UT Arlington men's basketball turned to its seniors Thursday night at Texas Hall. Sparked by the shooting of guard Rod Epps and the inside play of forward Larry Posey and center Jermaine Griffin, the Mavericks led from start-finish and captured a 69-60 victory against Nicholls State in a Southland Conference game at Texas Hall. Epps finished with a team-high 19 points on 5-for-7 shooting, including four 3-pointers. Griffin and Posey combined for 17 points and 17 rebounds. UTA (11-4, 1-2 in the SLC) not only earned its first league victory, the Mavericks extended their school-record home-court win streak to 15 games. UTA held the Colonels (6-12, 1-2) to 34.5 percent shooting from the field and 28.6 shooting from the 3-point line. Nicholls State entered the game as one of the best shooting teams in the SLC. "We played hard on both ends of the floor," UTA coach Scott Cross said. "I was proud of the way we took the lead and never really let them get back in it. We looked pretty good at times, and we got good effort from a lot of different guys. It was just what we needed to get our confidence back and get a good win in from the home crowd." UTA jumped to an 11-2 lead with 14:31 left in the first half on the strength of an Epps 3-pointer and four points by Posey. Each time the Colonels crawled within four, the Mavs held off the charge. A spurt just before halftime gave UTA a 32-18 lead. In the second half, Nicholls got no closer than seven. UTA was 22-for-46 (47.8 percent) from the field and 7-for-18 from the 3-point line. The Mavericks beat Nicholls State, 36-16, on the boards.
Guest abovetherim Posted January 18, 2008 Report Posted January 18, 2008 SFA stymies Lamar By PERRYN KEYS, The Enterprise 01/18/2008 Updated 01/17/2008 11:17:57 PM CST NACOGDOCHES - Down by 19 points in the second half, playing against a team that owns a trademark on defense, Lamar looked all but finished Thursday night against Stephen F. Austin. A last-ditch, madcap rally put the Cardinals in position to steal a win at the end. But, the Lumberjacks didn't let it happen. Stephen F. Austin committed an uncharacteristic 20 turnovers and lost its stranglehold in the closing minutes as Lamar closed to within three points - but the Lumberjacks held on, 81-75, before an announced crowd of 4,309 in William R. Johnson Coliseum. "It's tough. You knew they (the Cardinals) were going to make a run," SFA coach Danny Kaspar said. "We made some dumb mistakes, for lack of a better word, and there at the end, their pressure defense got to us. Despite all of that, we end up winning. We'll take it." Stephen F. Austin (14-2, 2-1 Southland Conference) came into the game with the nation's No. 2 scoring defense, having allowed an average of 53.3 points. Lamar (7-8, 1-1), in fact, became the first team to score 70 points against the Lumberjacks. The Cardinals had 51 points in the second half alone - more points than seven opponents scored in entire games against SFA this season. Still, as the Cardinals rode home to Beaumont, still winless away from the Montagne Center at 0-6, they had to lament the fact they didn't score more. They probably should have. Lamar finished 18-for-30 (60 percent) from the free-throw line - and the Cards' first-half output was worth forgetting. In a first half that started well but soon turned into a disaster, Lamar went 6:06 without a field goal. In the meantime, the Lumberjacks seemingly had an answer for every press, and they seemingly came up with a key basket whenever they needed it, taking a 38-24 lead into the break. "We played about as badly as we ever have (played) in the first half," LU coach Steve Roccaforte said. "It took a lot of effort for us to come back and get back into the game, and I'm not surprised that we did (come back). We gave ourselves a chance at the end. But we just waited too long." Lamar cannot afford to wait when it takes the floor next time. Sam Houston State, which shares first place in the SLC West Division, invades the Montagne Center at 7 p.m. Saturday. "The bottom line is, we can't let one game determine our season," Roccaforte said. "We have to come back and be ready to play." SFA forward Josh Alexander led all scorers with 26 points, hitting 6 of 11 shots from 3-point range and all six of his free-throw attempts. Center Matt Kingsley - who had no other scholarship offers when he left Cypress Creek High School three years ago - added 17 points and six rebounds, maintaining his status as one of the steadiest players in the league. Lamar, meanwhile, would have never challenged the Lumberjacks if it weren't for point guard Kenny Dawkins, whose hot hand returned after a slight cooling-off period. Dawkins had 23 points, including 17 after halftime. Lamar Sanders added 12 points, and Brandon McThay had nine, all of which came in the final six minutes. McThay was one of five bench players - including Tristan Worrell, Darren Hopkins, Currye Todd and Jay Brown - who got onto the floor during the game's first 10 minutes, as Lamar tried to push the ball up the floor and dictate the tempo. The Cardinals were 50 percent from the floor during the first four minutes and actually held a 13-11 lead with 13:22 remaining, even after Sanders was hit with a technical foul for hanging on the rim after a dunk. Matt Barrow's layup tied the score at 15 with 11:01 left. Lamar did not get another field goal until Barrow's next layup came with 4:55 remaining. The Cardinals also fired off three airballs and went 8-for-13 from the free-throw line in the first half. "The kind of game we wanted to play was the way we played in the first half," Kaspar said. "But we knew it was going to be difficult to keep it that way. We told our guys that Coach Roc is over there getting on his players - about how they were playing our kind of game, and they wanted to change it up. We knew the pressure was going to come." Alexander's 3-pointer with 4:01 remaining gave the Lumberjacks a 71-57 lead and sent many fans drifting toward the exits, assuming the home team had it in the bag. Instead, the Cardinals went on an 18-6 run and pulled to within three, 78-75, on a Dawkins 3-pointer with 17 seconds left. Reserve point guard Preston Davis, a freshman, sank one of two free throws at the other end of the floor. Lamar looked for a quick 3 on its next possession, but Alexander stole the ball with five seconds left, sealing the win. "Our first-half defense won the game; that's the bottom line," Kaspar said. "This is an excellent basketball team we beat tonight. I really think if they don't get down mentally, they'll have a really good conference record. They have weapons at almost every position. We knew that going in." Updated 01/17/2008 11:17:57 PM CST ©The Beaumont Enterprise 2008
Guest abovetherim Posted January 18, 2008 Report Posted January 18, 2008 Frantic LU comeback falls short The Port Arthur News Nacogdoches -- You could say time just ran out on another terrific Lamar University comeback. Or you could say the Cardinals simply dug themselves a hole that was too deep. Either way, the Cardinals headed back to Beaumont thinking about what might have been, after an 81-75 Southland Conference loss to Stephen F. Austin Thursday night. LU, after trailing the Lumberjacks by 19 points early in the second half, clawed back to within three on a Kenny Dawkins trey with 16 seconds left. But it was too little, too late, as SFA put the game away at the foul line. "It was a great effort the last 20 minutes," said Cardinal coach Steve Roccaforte. "But we played about as bad as we've played all year in the first half. You just can't get that far behind a good team." SFA, which rode a career best 26 points from junior guard Josh Alexander, improved to 2-1 in SLC play and 14-2 overall. Lamar, which now must host 14-2 Sam Houston State Saturday night, slipped to 1-1, 7-8. Dawkins was the catalyst for Lamar's comeback, scoring 20 of his 23 points in the second half and wreaking considerable havoc in the Cardinals' press. He wound up with five of Lamar's 12 steals, as the Cardinals forced the Lumberjacks into 20 turnovers and converted them into 20 points. Lamar probably lost the game by scoring only two field goals in the final 11:01 of the first half. A Matt Barrow drive had tied the game at 15-15. It would soon become 23-15, then 32-21 and finally 38-24 at halftime. When SFA hit two treys, a layup and a free throw on its first four possessions of the second half, the deficit grew to 47-28. The Cardinals comeback didn't happen all at once. Indeed, they didn't get within single digits until a Brandon McThay three ball with 2:54 to play. That made it 71-62. They got within, 76-70, on a pair of Dawkins free throws at 1:12, closed to 77-72 when Lamar Sanders made 1-of-2 freebies at 0:39 and turned it into a one-possesion game on Dawkins' trey at 0:16. Preston Davis, however, sank 1-of-2 foul shots for SFA for a four-point lead, then Lamar turned the ball over scrambling to get off a quick shot. Alexander iced it with two more free throws. Lamar, after shooting a miserable 32 percent (8-of-25) from the field, and going 0-for-5 on treys in the first half, sank 18-of-30 (60 percent) in the second half, including 5-of-9 three pointers. Poor shooting at the foul line (10-of-17 in the second half, 18-of-30 overall) may have kept the Cardinals from getting over the hump. After being outscored 38-24 in the opening 20 minutes, LU outpointed the Lumberjacks 51-43 in the final 20. That 51-point second half is significant because SFA came into the game ranked No. 1 in the SLC and No. 2 in the nation with only 53.3 points per game allowed. SFA won this one more with its offense than its defense. The Lumberjacks shot 53.2 percent (25-of-47) from the floor and 53.3 (8-of-15) behind the bonus arc. Alexander did most of the three-point damage, sinking 6-of-11. Matt Kinglsey backed up Alexander's 26 points with 17 of his own. Sophomore point guard Eric Bell sliced up the Cardinals for nine assists, but commited seven turnovers. Lamar Sanders (12 points, six rebounds) was the only Cardinal besides Dawkins in double figures. McThay came up big down the stretch, scoring all nine of his points in the final 5:26. Starting with a three-pointer, he scored eight straight points to help the Cardinals close from 68-54 to 71-62. "We just waited too long," summed up Roccaforte. "We have to learn to play with the same urgency and desperation right off the bat as we do when we get behind." -- Bob West
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