Feb. 23 Men's Basketball Report

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At Lamar 103, Northwestern State 95

BEAUMONT, Texas – Darren Hopkins was one of three Lamar players to reach 20 points as the Cardinals defeated Northwestern State, 103-95, for their tenth-consecutive victory Saturday at the Montagne Center.

Lamar (17-8, 10-1 Southland) shot 55 percent and made a season-high 32 free throws in snapping a two-game losing streak to the Demons in Beaumont. The Cardinals swept the season series as well.

Darren Hopkins led the Cards with 22 points on 7-of-11 shooting and four 3-pointers, while dishing out five assists. Kenny Dawkins posted his seventh game of 20-plus points as he had six assists. Currye Todd finished with 20 points and made three 3-pointers in 20 minutes. It marked the 21st time in school history that three players had at least 20 points in the same game and the first time since Feb. 7, 2004 – the last win over Northwestern State in Beaumont.

Lamar led by 21 with 8:20 to play and by 17 with 4:04 left before the Demons mounted one final push. Northwestern State got the margin to 101-95 with 25 seconds on the clock before a pair of Currye Todd free throws sealed the game for Lamar.

Northwestern State (12-18, 8-5) was led by Colby Bargeman’s 30 points and six 3-pointers.

The Cardinals held a 35-34 edge on the glass. The game had 58 fouls called and 79 free throws were attempted.

Lamar will now play three of its final four games on the road, starting Wednesday at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. The contest tips off at 6:30 p.m. at the American Bank Center and will be televised on Fox Sports Southwest.

UTSA 103, at Texas State 96 (OT)

SAN MARCOS, Texas – Senior Melvin Smith and freshman Devin Gibson combined for 46 points to lead five Roadrunners in double figures, as UTSA won an overtime thriller at Texas State, 103-96, on Saturday night at Strahan Coliseum.

Gibson scored a game-high 27 behind a 12-for-14 night at the free throw line, while Smith poured in 19 on 7-of-12 shooting, including six in the extra period, as the Roadrunners won their fourth straight game to improve to 12-13 overall and 6-6 in Southland Conference play, moving into sole possession of third place in the West Division. UTSA now is tied with Southeastern Louisiana for fifth place overall, but owns the tiebreaker against the Lions.

Junior Antoine Dade posted his first career double-double with season highs of 14 points and 12 rebounds, while senior Isaiah Allen and freshman JohnMark Ludwick added 13 points apiece. Senior Keith Spencer pitched in eight points and six boards, as the Roadrunners won for the first time in the series since March 4, 2005.

Brandon Bush and Brent Holder led the Bobcats (12-14, 5-8 SLC) with 18 points each, while Brent Benson (16) and Ryan White (12) also reached double figures. Ty Gough matched Dade with a game-high 12 rebounds.

UTSA led 77-69 after a pair of Gibson free throws with 1:04 to play. The Bobcats rallied to within 80-76 after two Bush freebies with 23 ticks left. Gibson converted 1-of-2 from the line, but a Dylan Moseley 3-pointer with 19 seconds remaining made it 1 one possession game.

Texas State was forced to foul, but UTSA missed both free throws. However, Moseley missed a trey and Gibson appeared to grab the clinching rebound with three seconds on the clock, but was called for traveling as he fell to the floor with the ball. The Bobcats found Bush on the ensuing inbound play and he was fouled, converting both free throws with two second left to send the game to overtime tied at 81.

Two free throws and a trey by Gibson, who also posted five steals, four assists and four rebounds in 41 minutes of action, helped UTSA get out to an 88-83 lead to start the extra period. White cut the deficit to 89-88 on an old-fashioned 3-point play off of Gibson’s fifth foul with 2:24 to play. Bush then came up with a steal and went in for a fast-break slam dunk, but was whistled for a technical for hanging on the rim. Smith converted both free throws for the Roadrunners to put them back on top, 91-90. Ludwick then was fouled and made both freebies to push the advantage to 93-90, but White quickly answered with a layup with 1:22 to play. Smith and Gough traded baskets, but a Spencer layup and a big rebound from Dade off a missed 3-pointer by White helped seal it for UTSA, as the Roadrunners went 6-for-6 from the line in the final 28 seconds to ice it.

A tight game throughout, the two teams traded leads early in the first half behind hot shooting from the floor. UTSA used an 11-2 run to open up a 29-20 lead midway through the half behind two dunks and a layup from Dade. 

The Bobcats fought back take a 39-38 lead on a pair of Jonathan Sloan free throws at the 2:11 mark, capping a 13-6 run. Dade responded with a dunk and Sloan and Dade traded free throws to make the halftime score, 41-40, in favor of the Roadrunners.

Ludwick scored nine straight points in a 1:28 span to give UTSA a 63-57 lead at the midway point of the second half. Texas State answered with back-to-back treys from Holder and Corey Jefferson. The Roadrunners ran off six straight points behind two steals and layups from Gibson to pull back out in front, 69-63, and held that lead until the final seconds of regulation.

UTSA shot 48.5 percent from the floor and were 34-of-47 (72.3 percent) from the line, while the Bobcats made 29-of-57 (50.9 percent) from the field, including 10 treys, and 28-of-34 (82.4 percent) from the charity stripe. The Roadrunners scored 51 points in the paint and converted 27 Bobcats turnovers into 30 points. 

There is a logjam in the race for a spot in the SLC Tournament, as UT Arlington improved to 6-7 with a win over A&M-Corpus Christi (5-7), while Southeastern Louisiana defeated Nicholls State to move to 6-6 and McNeese State ran its record to 5-7 with a victory over Central Arkansas. Just one game in the loss column separates five teams for the Nos. 5-8 seeds.

The Roadrunners return home to host McNeese State at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 27.

At Southeastern La. 54, Nicholls State 52

HAMMOND, La. – It was nearly déjà vu all over again in the second half for Southeastern Louisiana in its clash against arch-rival Nicholls State Saturday in the University Center.

But thanks to stellar play from Dekyron Nicks, the Lions avoided another disappointing loss as it pulled away late and held on for a 54-52 Southland Conference win before an announced crowd of 1,196.

Nicks scored a team-high 13 point, including a pair of free throws with 32.3 seconds remaining for Southeastern (14-11, 6-6 SLC), which snapped a three-game losing streak. Kevyn Green added 11 points for the Lions while Patrick Sullivan added nine points, seven rebounds and three blocks.

One week after racing out to a 16-point first-half lead against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi before falling, 62-56, the Lions again got off to a great start as it built a 17-point first-half lead while holding Nicholls State (7-20, 2-10 SLC) to 18 percent shooting. The Lions, who shot a season-high 67.5 percent in an 80-66 win at Nicholls State on Jan. 26, kept up their solid performance from the floor finishing 12-for-22 (55 percent) in the opening half en route to a 33-16 lead at the break.

But the second half cold snap that shut down Southeastern last week against the Islander, returned as the Lions made 5 of 19 shots (26 percent). Nicholls State, which lost for the 10th time in its last 11 games, fought back as it opened the second half with a 20-6 run in the second half to close to within 39-36 with 8:48 to play.

Southeastern enjoyed a 39-25 lead on a jumper by Sullivan with 11:57 remaining before the Colonels scored 11 points in the next 3:09. Ryan Bathie’s tip-in started the run for the Colonels, who went 12-for-30 (40 percent) in the second half and 5-for-12 from behind the 3-point line.

Adonis Gray then drained a 3-pointer before Bathie hit a pair of long-range buckets that got Nicholls State to within 39-36.

Daryl Arnold, who torched Nicholls State in the previous meeting between the schools for 12 first-half points – all from behind the 3-point arc – then stopped the run with a 3-pointer from the left win to give Southeastern a 42-36 lead.

Southeastern’s Warrell Span hit the second of two free throws that gave the Lions a 43-38 lead with 6:15 left before the Lions used a 9-2 run that was capped by Chris Cyprian’s 3-pointer for a 52-40 cushion.

Leading by the same score with 2:00 left, Green was whistled for his fifth foul and also drew a technical that sent Nicholls State to the line for four free throws. Anatoly Bose and Gray each made both of their attempts and Gray would add a pair of free throws with 1:23 left that got the Colonels to within 52-46.

A 3-pointer by Bose, who scored 13 points to lead four Colonels in double figures, cut the Southeastern lead to 52-49 with 45 seconds remaining before Nicks was fouled on the ensuing possession.

Nicks, who finished 6-for-6 from the free throw line, sealed the win for Southeastern with Justin Payne hitting a 3-pointer at the buzzer for the final margin.

Southeastern struggled from the free throw line making 14 of 29 attempts (48 percent) in the game. The Lions, who forced 16 turnovers with 12 Colonel miscues coming in the first half, committed 19. Despite being outscored, 36-21, in the second half, Southeastern held the Colonels to 16-for-52 (31 percent) for the game and 5-for-19 (26 percent) from long range.

Bathie, Payne and Gray added 12 points each for the Colonels, who dropped their 10th game to Southeastern in the past 14 meetings.

Southeastern will return to action on Thursday when it opens a three-game SLC roadtrip at Central Arkansas before facing Northwestern State on Saturday in a regionally-televised contest at Prather Coliseum.

At McNeese State 77, Central Arkansas 48

LAKE CHARLES, La. - McNeese State had one of its better shooting games of the season in posting a 77-48 Southland Conference basketball victory over Central Arkansas here Saturday.

The Cowboys, who have won three of their last four games, knocked down 58.3 percent of their three point shots, 55.8 percent of their total field goals and 75 percent of their free throws.

McNeese also held a 41-28 rebound advantage as the Cowboys notched their fifth victory in 12 league games and their 11th in 24 contests on the year. Central Arkansas fell to 3-10 in the SLC and to 13-14 overall.

The Cowboys led from the outset and ran up a 37-24 halftime advantage. In that first half McNeese missed only 12 shots from the floor, only two from three point range and was perfect at the line.

Kleon Penn, the Cowboys' 6-11 center, led the McNeese scoring attack with 15 points while Jarvis Bradley and Diego Kapelan had 14 each. A total of 11 McNeese players got into the scoring column.

John Pichon led McNeese in rebounding with eight with Bradley and Penn getting seven each and Penn also blocking six shots.

The Bears had only one double figure scorer and that was Nate Bowie who hit for 13, four under his league leading average.

A tight defense by the Cowboys forced Central Arkansas into one of its worst nights shooting the basketball. On the game the Bears connected on only 23 percent of its field goals and but 14.3 percent of its three point shots.

At UT Arlington 82, A&M-Corpus Christi 69

ARLINGTON, Texas - Rog'er Guignard scored 16 points and Rod Epps added 13 to lead Texas-Arlington to an 82-69 win over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Saturday.

Cardell Hunter had 10 points, and Jermaine Griffin brought down 11 rebounds for the Mavericks (17-9, 6-7 Southland).

Horace Bond scored 11 points and Justin Reynolds added 10 to lead the Islanders (8-17, 5-7).

Texas A&M-Corpus Christi shot just 11 percent from beyond the 3-point line, including 0-for-14 in the second half. The Mavericks hit 11 of their 15 3-point attempts for the game.

Texas-Arlington led 37-32 at the break.

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