Seahawks face No. 8 Navarro College on Saturday

[LamarStatesports]

The Lamar State College-Port Arthur men’s basketball team will be looking to extend their win streak to five games Saturday, when they return home to the Carl Parker for a 4 p.m. conference matchup with No. 8-ranked Navarro College.

Lamar State is 12-4 overall and 3-3 in Region XIV play, after the Seahawks posted their fourth straight win of 2010, defeating Lee College, 86-80 in overtime, Wednesday night in Baytown.

Freshman guard Von Jones had a perfect 8-for-8 night from the free-throw line, including two he made with two seconds left in regulation to force the overtime period.

Freshman guard Roman Vaughn hit two free throws to ice the win with six seconds left in OT.

Four Seahawks scored in double figures, led by freshman forward Keenan Coleman with 19 points.

Jones scored 18 points and had 10 assists. Sophomore guard Kavon Rose had 15 points and 10 rebounds, while Vaughn added 13 points. Freshman forward Gordon Ball also had 10 rebounds.

Lamar State head coach Matt Cross said his team was impressive against Lee College.

“I am so proud of our team for how they overcame so much adversity on the road in a hostile environment and pulled out a victory against a very talented team. It was an incredible effort,” Cross said. “I am very excited to see how fast our freshman class has developed. Their progress really showed down the stretch in the Lee College game.”

The Navarro Runnin’ Bulldogs dropped from No. 2 to No. 8 in this week’s National Junior College Athletic Association poll after losing 72-70 in overtime this past Saturday to Paris Junior College. The loss was Navarro’s second of the season and its first conference defeat.

Navarro is tied with Paris Junior College and San Jacinto College at the top of the Region XIV standings.

Cross said his team will have to play even better to defeat the Bulldogs.

“We will have to take our great play as of late and bring it to an even higher lever to knock off Navarro,” Cross said. “It will be an exciting basketball game. I can’t wait for the opportunity to see where our program stacks up against at Top-10 national program.”

Lamar State returns to road Wednesday for a 7 p.m. conference game at Kilgore College.