March 1 Men's Basketball Report

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McNeese State snapes Lamar's 11-game winning streak, UT Arlington breaks SFA's eight-game streak, while Southeastern La., Sam Houston State, UTSA and Nicholls State also pick up SLC wins on Saturday night.

March 1 Scores:

At McNeese State 74, Lamar 71

LAKE CHARLES, La. - McNeese State rode the shoulders of seniors Jarvis Bradley and Kleon Penn to a 74-71 victory over Southland Conference leading Lamar University in action here Saturday.

Bradley scored a game high 22 points, 11 in each half, while the 6-11 Penn narrowly missed only the second triple double in Cowboy history, scoring 12 points, pulling 15 rebounds and blocking nine shots.

The victory was the third in a row and the fifth in the last six games for the Cowboys who evened their league record at 7-7 and their overall mark at 13-13. Lamar fell to 18-8 overall and to 12-2 in league play.

"We're getting a lot better," Cowboy coach Dave Simmons said of his team. "We got that good lead but then Lamar came back and we were able to hang on. We did what we had to do to win and that is a big positive."

The Cowboys led at halftime by a 34-28 score and then went up 17 points at 57-40 with 11:49 left in the game. McNeese held a double digit lead at 74-63 with 1:45 left but Lamar scored the final eight points to make the game close.

Penn's nine blocked shots in the game gave him 108 for the season and a school record, breaking the mark of 106 that had been set by former standout Edmond Lawrence in the 1972-73 season. Incidentally, Lawrence is the only former Cowboy to ever produce a triple double.

Also scoring in double figures for the Cowboys, who made 54.5 percent of their shots for the game, were John Pichon with 14 points and John Ford with 12.

As a team the Cowboys had 19 assists and 11 blocked shots.

Lamar was led in scoring by Currye Todd who had 16 points while Darren Hopkins scored 13, Justin Nabors had 12 and Lamar Sanders 10.

McNeese held a 41-28 edge in the rebound column, a department that the Cowboys have led over most teams throughout the year. Bradley had seven rebounds while Pichon had six and freshman P. J. Alawoya came off the bench for five.

More than half of the Cowboys points in the game came in the paint, McNeese scoring 42 there. The Cowboys also made 23 points on second chance shots.

The victory by the Cowboys avenges an earlier loss to Lamar in Beaumont, Texas.

UT Arlington 75, at Stephen F. Austin 65

NACOGDOCHES, Texas - The UT Arlington men's basketball team had a 17-game home win streak until Stephen F. Austin arrived at Texas Hall and snapped it last month.

The Mavericks got their payback Saturday in Nacogdoches, and in beating the Lumberjacks in convincing 75-65 fashion and handing SFA its only home loss this season, UTA got a whole lot more that just revenge. The Mavericks proved they could win on the road, and they secured a spot in the Southland Conference Tournament scheduled March 13-16 in Houston.

UTA coach Scott Cross reminded his team before the game that it would take one victory in its final two regular-season games to secure the postseason. Cross asked his players: "Why not do it against the best team in the league and get it over with?"

They responded by pounding the ball inside to junior forward Anthony Vereen and hitting outside shots when Vereen kicked the ball back. Vereen scored 27 points and pulled down 12 rebounds. The guard combination of Rod Epps and Rog'er Guignard combined for 24 points.

Guignard was 4-for-6 from the 3-point line and became the single-season leader in 3-pointers made in UTA history. Guignard's fourth 3-pointer gave him 80 this year. Willie Brand - the only UTA player to have his number retired - had 77 in two different season. Guignard's 80th long-range jumper gave the Mavericks a 60-56 lead with 3:23 left in the game.

"It was an unbelievable all-around team effort," Cross said. "It was one of our best defensive efforts of the year. Anthony had the hot hand and our guys got the ball to him. It's a huge win. I don't know if they're the best team in the league, but they're certainly one of the best. They snapped our streak at home, and now we snapped theirs."

UTA (18-10, 7-8 SLC), whose 18 victories is third-most in school history, trailed the SLC West Division-leading Lumberjacks (23-4, 11-3) most of the first half, but the Mavericks climbed back in by outscoring the Lumberjacks, 8-1, to open the second.

In that run, Guignard hit a 3-pointer, and Larry Posey had a putback. A Jermaine Griffin block led to an Epps layup in transition. Epps was fouled on the play, hit the free throw, and the Mavericks had their first lead of the game, 35-34, with 18:36 left in the game.

From there, UTA's inside game led by Vereen and outside shooting of Guignard and Epps - they were 5-for-6 from long range in the second half - matched the Lumberjacks guard combo of Gerald Fonzie and Josh Alexander shot-for-shot. A putback by Vereen gave the Mavericks a 57-54 lead at the six-minute mark.

"We had about 30 loyal and loud fans who made the trip, and when we needed a stop, they gave us an added boost of energy," Cross said. "And our red-shirts on the bench helped keep everybody positive and focused throughout the game. Those two things were huge when we were battling late in the game."

UTA kept its four-point margin until two Vereen free-throws pushed it to 64-58 with 2:02 left. SFA missed on its next possession, and Larry Posey was fouled going up for the rebound. Posey hit both foul shots, and UTA started to celebrate with a 66-58 margin with 1:36 left.

UTA continued to frustrate the Lumberjacks on the perimeter, and the Mavericks hit their foul shots down the stretch to secure the win.

"My staff did an outstanding job preparing a game-plan to defend Stephen F. Austin, and the guys executed it to perfection," Cross said.

The Lumberjacks opened the game with a 16-8 run to put the Mavericks into an early hole, but UTA's inside game and dribble penetration got SFA leading scorer Alexander and post man Matt Kingsley into early foul trouble. Alexander played just 11 minutes in the first half after picking up his second foul with 11:49 left.

With Alexander on the bench, UTA went on a run and cut the SFA lead to 18-14 on an Anthony Vereen layup.

The teams traded baskets until a Jeremy Smith 3-pointer got the Mavericks as close as they had been since the opening minutes. Smith's long-range jumper from the left corner made it 24-21. Alexander, who had come back off the bench with two fouls, answered quickly with a 3 to make it 27-21. A layup by SFA backup center Benson Akpan made it 29-21 with 3:39 left in the half.

SFA pushed its lead back to nine, 33-24, on an Eric Bell layup with 1:20 left, and it appeared the Lumberjacks would keep the margin near double-digits into the halftime locker room. But a late spurt by the Mavericks closed the gap. Vereen was fouled going up for a defensive rebound and his one of two free throws.

Epps followed with a steal and layup to make it 33-27 with 15 seconds left in the half. SFA had one last shot, but UTA's defense held to provide the margin at the break.

At Sam Houston State 80, Texas State 74

HUNTSVILLE, Texas - Jeremy Thomas scored 19 points and Ryan Bright added 17 points and 10 rebounds to lead Sam Houston State to an 80-74 Southland Conference men’s basketball victory over Texas State-San Marcos Saturday at Johnson Coliseum.

Sam Houston State (21-6, SLC 8-6), trailed by as many as 10 points in the first half and was down 45-39 at intermission. But the Bearkats outscored Texas State-San Marcos (12-16, SLC 5-10) 18-3 in the first 11 minutes of the second half to take a 57-48 lead with 11:43 to play.

The Bobcats came back to take a 65-63 lead on a layup by Brandon Bush with 4:47 to play. The Bearkats went on a 15-11 run to end the game with a victory.

Bush led the Bobcats with 14 points and 8 rebounds.

Southeastern La. 75, at Northwestern State 72

NATCHITOCHES, La. - Kevyn Green scored 21 of his game-high 27 points in the second half, including three free throws with 1.3 seconds remaining, as Southeastern Louisiana earned its first regular-season win at Prather Coliseum in nearly a quarter of a century with a 75-72 win over Northwestern State in a regionally-televised game Saturday.

Chris Cyprian added 11 points for Southeastern (15-12, 7-7 SLC), which posted its first win in a regular-season game in Natchitoches since a 75-69 win on Jan. 28, 1985. Warrell Span and Patrick Sullivan scored 10 points each for the Lions while Dekyron Nicks dished out 11 assists.

"I'm so proud of our team and the way they fought back in the second half," Southeastern head coach Jim Yarbrough said. "We were down at halftime, but I reminded them that we led by seven in the previous game against them (a 60-55 Northwestern State win). We came out with tremendous energy in the second half and picked up a great win against a great team in Northwestern."

The teams fought through 11 ties and 17 lead changes before Green's free throws gave Southeastern its second victory in the last 17 games in Prather - the previous win was a 49-42 victory in the championship game of the 2005 Southland Conference Tournament.

Keithan Hancock tied the score at 72-72 with two free throws with 30 seconds left and Southeastern worked the ball down for the final shot. Nicks drove down the middle of the lane and found Green alone in the left corner, where the senior got Colby Bargeman up in the air with a pump fake and drew contact.

Green, who finished one point off his career high, sank all three attempts from the line before Bargeman's desperation 3-pointer from midcourt bounced off the back of the iron at the buzzer.

Green finished 8-for-14 from the floor and was 6-for-10 from behind the 3-point line for Southeastern, which shot 55 percent (12-for-22) from the floor in the second half and finished 23-for-48 (48 percent) for the game. The Lions held Northwestern State (12-17, 8-7 SLC) to 38 percent shooting for the game and 9-for-27 (33 percent) in the second half.

Southeastern took a 17-14 lead in the first half after a pair of free throws by Tavaris Nance before the Demons fought back. After Cyprian cut the Demon lead to 27-25 with a layup, Northwestern State went on an 8-1 run that was capped by two free throws from Trey Gilder for a 35-26 lead.

Northwestern State led 37-30 at halftime before Southeastern opened the second half with a 14-6 run, taking a 44-43 lead on Span's layup at the 15:37 mark. The Lions increased their lead to 50-45 on a dunk by Sullivan with 13:04 left before Northwestern State chipped away, taking a 55-54 lead on Bargeman's layup.

Devin White led the Demons with 13 points while Gilder, Hancock and Damon Jones added 11 points each. Northwestern State, which collected 19 offensive rebounds while led to 16 second-chance points, shot 4-of-16 from behind the 3-point line but committed 14 turnovers that led to 24 points for the Lions.

Southeastern will visit McNeese State on Wednesday in a 7 p.m. contest at Burton Coliseum.

At UTSA 65, A&M-Corpus Christi 51

SAN ANTONIO, Texas - Freshman Devin Gibson scored a game-high 20 points, including 14 in the second half, as UTSA ran away from Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, 65-51, on Saturday night before a season-high crowd of 3,050 at the Convocation Center.

The Roadrunners, 13-14 overall, moved back into a tie with Southeastern Louisiana for fifth place in the league standings, as both teams stand 7-7 in league play. The victory also snapped a six-game losing streak to the A&M-Corpus Christi dating back to the first-ever meeting on Nov. 27, 1999. The Islanders fell to 8-19 and 5-9.

Gibson, who was UTSA’s leading scorer for the 14th time this season, was 6-of-8 from the floor, including a pair of 3-pointers, and 6-for-6 from the free throw line in reaching 20 points for the sixth time. Junior Joey Shank drained three treys in the second half en route to 11 points, while senior Melvin Smith added 10.

UTSA broke open a close game at the half (27-25 lead) with a 9-2 run out of the gates behind five points from Gibson. The Islanders chipped away at the lead and fought back to within 42-39 on a 3-pointer by Antonio Topps at the 11:14 mark.

The Roadrunners responded with eight unanswered points behind 3-pointers from Shank and Gibson to make it 50-39 with just over nine minutes remaining. A&M-Corpus Christi made it a nine-point game on Filip Toncinic jumper, but that was as close as the Islanders would get the rest of the way as UTSA built as much as a 17-point lead down the stretch in running away with their fifth win in the past six games.

Justin Reynolds led the Islanders with 10 points, while Demond Watt posted eight points and a game-high nine rebounds.

UTSA forced 21 turnovers – the 15th team with 20-plus this season – converting those miscues into 23 points. The Roadrunners committed only nine turnovers and shot 46.8 percent for the game, including 51.9 percent in the second half. The Islanders shot 47.5 percent, but made just 3-of-15 from behind the arc.

The Roadrunners travel to Huntsville to face Sam Houston State at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, March 5.

Nicholls State 60, at Central Arkansas 51

CONWAY, Ark. - Both teams didn't combine for 194 points like they did in this season's first match up in Stopher Gym, but Nicholls did have four players in double-figures as they defeated Central Arkansas for the first time in school history on Saturday night in the Farris Center, 60-51.

Junior Ryan Bathie led all scorers in the win as he posted 19 points and nine rebounds. Bathie also went 3-of-5 from three-point range that gave him 201 career three pointers making him only the sixth player in Southland Conference history to make 200 shots from downtown. His three makes tonight helped him surpass Northwestern State's former great Jermaine Wallace on the SLC list.

Following Bathie across the decade mark was freshman Dominic Friend and senior Adonis Gray with 14 points each. Friend also notched 10 rebounds giving him his second double-double of his career. Gray also pulled down seven rebounds in the victory, and tied his career high in assists with six.

Rounding out the Colonels' double-figure scorers was true freshman Anatoly Bose as he finished with 10-points and seven rebounds. Bose has socred 10-plus points in 16 games this season for the Colonels.

Although junior Gil Verner and sophomore Chris Paige did not score in the contest, they both proved valuable in the win as Verner had four assists, three steals, and a block while Paige had two rebounds and two blocks.

"The guys played well. We made big shots at critical points in the game, and made free throws down the stretch to secure the win," said head coach J.P. Piper. "Justin Payne and Kellan Carter did an outstanding job defending (Nate) Bowie and only limited him to 15 points."

In the Colonels and Bears game earlier this season, UCA's Nate Bowie rung up 39-points to beat Nicholls 98-96 in double overtime.

Nicholls led 30-22 at the half, and despite a resilient effort by Central Arkansas in the second half, the Colonels out scored the Bears 30-29 in the second stanza to get the road victory.

The Colonels (9-20, 4-10) led by as many as 15-points at the 15:24 mark of the first half while Central Arkansas (14-15, 4-11) failed to have any bench points in the contest.

As a team, Nicholls shot 40.8 percent (20-of-49) from the floor to Central Arkansas' mark of 34.0 percent (16-of-47) while both teams shot 40.0 percent from downtown; the Colonels made 8-of-20 while the Bears sank 6-of-15 from behind the arc. Nicholls also won the battle on the boards, 37-to-30.

Nicholls will take to the road again Thursday as they play league-leading Lamar (18-9, 12-2) in Beaumont, Tex. Earlier this season, the Cardinals defeated the Colonels 72-68 in overtime in Stopher Gym. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.

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