Feb. 9 Men's Basketball Report

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Feb. 9 Scores:

At Lamar 88, Southeastern La. 74

BEAUMONT, Texas – Lamar Sanders scored a season-high 24 points on 9-of-11 shooting as Lamar University opened the second half on a 11-2 run to pull away for an 88-74 win over Southeastern Louisiana at the Montagne Center Saturday night.

Sanders also hit 6-of-8 free throws and had three assists and a pair of steals. Justin Nabors scored 19 points on 7-of-10 shooting, and Kenny Dawkins added 17 points for Lamar (13-8, 7-1 Southland). Darren Hopkins chipped in 14 points.

The Cardinals shot a season best from the floor and from outside, converting 62 percent overall and 61.5 percent on 8-of-13 from outside.

Warrell Span and Kevyn Green scored 18 points apiece to lead Southeastern Louisiana (13-9, 5-4). SLU shot 42 percent for the game and held a slim 30-27 rebounding margin. The Lions were perfect from the free throw line, making all 19 attempts. Lamar shot 78 percent on 18-of-23.

With Lamar leading 44-42 at the half, the Cardinals came out and hit their first five shots to take a 58-46 lead with just under 15 minutes to play. SLU got the margin to nine with 9:16 to play before Lamar answered with a 6-0 run to extend its lead to 72-57 with 7:30 left. The Card got their lead to as much as 18 with under a minute to play before the final tally.

The win is Lamar’s sixth-consecutive, marking the longest since the 1987-88 squad rattled off nine straight. The 88 points scored by the Cardinals are the most allowed by SLU all season – marking the fifth Southland team in eight games that Lamar has accomplished that against.

Lamar will play host to Texas-Arlington on Thursday night at 7:05 p.m. before traveling to Texas State for a 4 p.m. game televised on FSN Southwest next Saturday.

Northwestern State 67, at Central Arkansas 66 (OT)

CONWAY, Ark. – Colby Bargeman blocked a shot with 15 seconds left in overtime, then drove around the lane and hit a running 6-footer off glass with 0.9 second to go Saturday night, lifting Northwestern State to a 67-66 victory at Central Arkansas and giving the Demons their third straight Southland Conference win.

The Demons (10-13 overall, 6-3 in the SLC) got a pivotal defensive stop trailing by one in the final half-minute. With the shot clock winding down, Marcus Pillow drove the right side of the lane and tried a short jumper, but Bargeman blocked it and Jerry Moody rebounded to give the Demons possession with 15 seconds remaining.

Northwestern moved quickly downcourt, with point guard Michael McConathy feeding Bargeman on the left wing with about 10 seconds left. Bargeman dribbled left, then back right and up top before cutting right and toward the basket as time evaporated. After his shot dropped through, UCA tried a long pass but NSU’s Keithan Hancock knocked it away as the clock ran out.

Bargeman shared the team lead with 14 points, despite battling cramps in his calf during overtime. Trey Gilder contributed 14 points and 14 rebounds, while Keithan Hancock added 12 points for the Demons. Moody picked off 11 rebounds and blocked three shots.

The lead changed hands four times in overtime. Both teams shined on defense, and struggled shooting. Northwestern sank just 36 percent from the floor while UCA sank only 34 percent.

“I am just extremely proud of these guys battling through and finding a way to get a good, good win against a very, very solid team on their homecourt,†said Northwestern coach Mike McConathy. “We made one more play than UCA did. Our guys just showed great heart and resolve to find a way to get this win tonight.â€

McConathy said the Demons wanted Bargeman to take the last shot.

“We’ve got lots of offensive weapons, but we felt that Colby had a matchup advantage and he is the kind of guy who will just simply not be denied in clutch situations,†he said. “That basket was just like most of his others, he was able to use a burst of quickness and his leaping ability to get up and get the shot off. On the other end, he made the block after we played some terrific team defense, and then Jerry Moody came up with another rebound for us.â€

For the Bears (13-10, 3-6), it was their fourth overtime game in league play and second loss in extra time. UCA lost at home for only the third time in 12 outings at the Ferris Center.

UCA got 17 points by Natie Bowie, 14 from Marcus Pillow, 12 by York Sims and 10 points and 11 rebounds by Durrell Nevels. Brian Marks snagged a game-high 17 rebounds for the Bears.

The Bears took an early seven-point deficit and led by as many as 10 in the first half. Their margin was as big as eight after halftime, but the Demons surged down the stretch into a lead as big as five points with 2:40 left before UCA rallied to force overtime.

At Sam Houston State 71, A&M-Corpus Christi 53

HUNTSVILLE, Texas - Shamir McDaniel hit five of eight three point shots and scored 19 points and Ryan Bright pulled down 10 rebounds to lead Sam Houston State to a 71-53 Southland Conference men's basketball victory over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi at Johnson Coliseum Saturday.

The game was tied eight times and there with 13 lead changes before the Bearkats went ahead to stay 36-35 on a free throw by John Gardiner with 16:37 to play. Sam Houston outstcored the Islanders 35 to 18 in the final 15 minutes of the half.

Justin Reynolds led TAMUCC with 17 points. Chris Daniels pulled down 9 rebounds.

Sam Houston lifted its record to 18-4 and 6-3 in Southland Conference action.

The Islanders fell to 6-15 and 3-5.

Bright scored 15 points. DeLuis Ramirez added 12, and John Gardiner had 10.

Nicholls State 74, at McNeese State 71 (OT)

LAKE CHARLES, La. - The Colonels had to settle it in overtime for the third consecutive game, but unlike the previous two that resulted in losses, Nicholls picked up the 74-71 win over McNeese State on Cox Sports Television in Burton Coliseum.

Nicholls played arguably their best half of the season in the second stanza as they shot 56 percent (14-of-25) and an astonishing 71.4 percent (10-of-14) from behind the arc to overcome a six-point halftime dearth. It was only the second game of the season that Nicholls overcame a halftime deficit. All of the Colonels nine points in the extra five minutes came at the free throw line en rout to their victory.

"The way we played tonight is how we are suppose to play the game," said head coach J.P. Piper. "We really challenged our guys, and they responded and grew up a lot today, especially in the second half."

Junior Ryan Bathie, who sat almost all of the first half, came out with a vengeance in the second period as he drained his first three three-point attempts to help the Colonels claw their way back after a six point deficit at halftime. Bathie scored all of his 19-points in the second half and overtime, and sank a three-ball at the 14:16 mark of the second half that gave the Colonels a 41-40 lead - their first lead since the 18:08 point of the first half.

Nicholls extended their lead to as many as nine at the 9:08 mark of the second half, but McNeese State remained resilient and recaptured the lead on a second chance dunk by John Pichon with 4:02 left in regulation. Pichon's put back signified a 10-0 run before Bathie drained a long-range three to stop the bleeding.

The Colonels (7-17, 2-7) gave up an 14-5 run to start the game, but fought back after being down by as many as nine to go into the locker room at halftime down only by six, 29-23. In the first half of play, freshman Anatoly Bose had a team-best eight points to keep Nicholls in the thick of things early on. Also getting in on the action in the first half and making the most of his playing time was sophomore Reggie Shanks who had a career high six rebounds and season best four points in only 14 minutes in the first period. Leading the Cowboys (8-12, 2-6) at half was Kapelan with nine points, all of which came from behind the arc.

Nicholls did a lot of shuffling with the lineup in the first half as Bathie only played a minute, Payne only played seven, and Gray only played eight. The only two starters that played more than 10 minutes in the first half were sophomore Chris Paige and Bose. Paige played 11 while Bose accumulated 19.

"We wanted to try and shake things up and give our non-starters a chance, and they really did a good job," said Piper.

For the game, Bathie led all Colonel scorers with 19 and six rebounds while Payne added 14 that included a 4-of-4 mark shooting from behind the arc. Bose extended his consecutive 10-plus performances to 11 with his 12 point effort, and Dominic Friend came off the bench to score 12 as well to round out the Colonels double-digit scorers. Even though Shanks didn't score cross the decade mark, he did establish new career highs in points with seven and rebounds with seven.

McNeese State had three players in double-figures with Kapelan leading the way with 24 and was followed by Kleon Penn and John Ford who each had 11. Penn also had nine rebounds and five blocks in the game.

The Colonels will be back in action this Thursday at home versus Texas A&M Corpus Christi. Tip-off is set for 6:30 p.m.

At Stephen F. Austin 60, UTSA 39

NACOGDOCHES, Texas - Stephen F. Austin held Texas-San Antonio to 33 percent shooting Saturday in a 60-39 win at the William R. Johnson Coliseum. The 39 points are the second-lowest total for the Roadrunners this season and mark the fourth time this season for the Lumberjacks to hold an opponent to fewer than 40 points.

The victory snapped a six-game losing streak against UTSA and keeps SFA in front in the Southland Conference West Division with a 7-2 league record. The Lumberjacks are 19-3 overall. The Roadrunners fall to 8-13 on the year and 2-6 in league action.

UTSA took a 2-0 lead on the game's first possession, but SFA answered with a 3-pointer by junior forward Josh Alexander. The Roadrunners went ahead again briefly, two minutes later, but junior center Matt Kingsly hit a jumper on the paint to give the Lumberjacks the lead for good.

SFA led by as many as 15 in the first half and took a 33-20 advantage to the locker room. The Lumberjacks stretched their edge to 22 by the middle of the second half and coasted to the win.

Kingsley scored 17 points to pace SFA, the second straight game for him to lead the `Jacks in scoring. He hit 7-of-10 from the floor, pulled down 10 rebounds and put up three blocked shots. Alexander joined Kingsley in double digits with 14 points. He went 3-for-7 on 3-pointers leading a 40-percent effort from downtown for the Lumberjacks. As a team, SFA shot 45 percent from the floor. Alexander also pulled down eight rebounds and finished with four assists.

At the other end, UTSA had trouble getting good looks inside. SFA outscored the Roadrunners, 26-18, in the paint, and the Lumberjacks blocked six shots. SFA dominated in rebounding, pulling down 40 boards and outscoring the Roadrunners, 13-6, in second-chance points.

Sophomore point guard Eric Bell scored nine points and dished out four assists with no turnovers. Freshman guard Eddie Williams scored eight points and pulled down five rebounds. Junior forward Nick Shaw tied Alexander for game-high honors with eight rebounds and joined Benson Akpan and Scott Weaver in scoring four points each.

The Lumberjacks will be back in action Wednesday, when they host Central Arkansas in a 7 p.m. game.

At UT Arlington 99, Texas State 81ARLINGTON, Texas - UT Arlington men's basketball coach Scott Cross says his team has three starters at the power forward and center positions, despite that only two spots are vacant.

"It just so happens that Jermaine is the one coming off the bench right now."It's not a big deal. I consider all of those guys to be starters."

Griffin helped prove the point in Saturday afternoon's 99-81 Southland Conference victory against Texas State at Texas Hall. Griffin came off the bench and narrowly missed his career high with 26 points on 9 of 13 shooting as UTA raced to a 23-point halftime lead and held on for the victory. Griffin, a senior from Houston and preseason, First-Team All-SLC pick, also pulled down 13 rebounds.

It was his sixth double-double of the season, his first since Dec. 22.

The inside-outside combination of Griffin and sophomore guard Rog'er Guignard proved too much for the visiting Bobcats (11-11, 4-5 in the SLC), who cut the Mavericks advantage to 10 in the final two minutes but could get no closer. Guignard scored 19 points and was 8-for-13 from the field. He was 3-for-7 from the 3-point line.

"Texas State is a scary team because they're athletic and press the whole game - and they were tied with us in the standings - so to get a win like this is huge for us," Cross said. "All of our guys played well. Our bench came in a gave us some great minutes - Jeremy Smith had 15 points. And when Jermaine plays like he played today, we're one of the best teams in the conference."

UTA (16-6, 5-4), which shot 52.5 percent from the field, also got eight points and 12 rebounds from senior forward Larry Posey. Sophomore forward Anthony Vereen chipped in 11 points.

Guards Cardell Hunter and Rod Epps had four assists each.

UTA's 16 victories ties for the fourth-most in school history.

The Mavericks jumped to the insurmountable lead behind Guignard's hot shooting. At the 13:40 mark of the first half, UTA held a 19-10 advantage and Guignard had hit his second three-pointer and fifth field goal for 12 of the Mavericks' 19 points.

That, coupled with 23 percent shooting from the field for the Bobcats, was a recipe for a huge first-half advantage. UTA had a 10-point advantage at the 5:57 mark, then went on a 15-3 run to blow the game open. In that run, UTA got points from five different players.

When the Bobcats made a run late in the game to cut UTA's lead to 10 again, the Mavericks made their free throws to seal the victory. The 99 points scored ties for the highest-scoring out since a 99-66 victory Nov. 26 at home against Schreiner.

The Mavericks are back in action at 7 p.m. Thursday on the road against Lamar.

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