Seahawks face Region XIV leader Wednesday in Paris

[LamarStatesports]

The Lamar State College-Port Arthur men’s basketball team will face the current Region XIV leader Wednesday at nationally-ranked Paris Junior College.

Lamar State dropped to 15-7 overall and 5-6 in Region XIV play after losing in overtime, 75-68, at home Saturday to Trinity Valley Community College. This was the Seahawks’ second straight conference loss.

Lamar State was up 61-60 with 11 seconds left in regulation, but allowed the Apaches to tie the game. The Seahawks actually lost the game at the free-throw line, where they hit only 20 of 32 attempts, several of which came in the final seconds of the game.

LSC-PA head coach Matt Cross said his team let a victory slip away.

“We were in control against Trinity Valley, which is viewed as one of the top junior college teams in the nation. But our lack of focus at the free-throw line allowed them to hang around and take the game to overtime, where their experience took over,” Cross said.

Paris Junior College is 18-4 overall and has the best record in the conference at 9-2. The Dragons won seven of their last eight games including victories over South Zone leader San Jacinto College and highly-rated Navarro College. The only defeat was a one-point loss to Angelina College.

This will be Lamar State’s third game this season against a nationally-ranked team. The Seahawks previously defeated then-No. 25 Lon Morris College and then-No. 8 Navarro College.

Paris is No. 22 in this week’s NJCAA poll. San Jacinto College is No. 10.

Cross said his Seahawks team looks forward to playing another nationally-ranked team.

“We are in the midst of a very difficult five-game stretch that started in Tyler. In the next four games, we will face programs that have the most history and tradition in the conference,” Cross said. “I believe we can be successful against all of them if we stay focused and play tough. The teams that understand the value of becoming tougher through tough times are the ones that go on to achieve greatness.”

Lamar State will be on the road again Saturday afternoon at Lon Morris College in Jacksonville.

The Seahawks return home Thursday, Feb. 11, for a Mardi Gras kick-off game against San Jacinto.

Seahawk Notes
* Freshman forward Dion Waiters took over first place on the Region XIV Week 11 list for steals, displacing teammate Von Jones, the former leader, who now is in third place. Jones is second in assists.

* Sophomore forward Ahyaro Phillips sat out the Trinity Valley game with an injury. His status is day-to-day. Phillips also moved from first to second in blocked shots in Region XIV this week.

* Sophomore guard Kavon Rose is ninth in the conference in scoring with 15.2 points-per-game.

* Freshman guard Nick Walters’ performances in last week’s games moved him up to No. 2 in the conference for three-point shooting accuracy. Keenan Coleman is fifth and Kavon Rose in ninth.

* Freshman guard Roman Vaughn and Ahyaro Phillips are eighth and ninth in the conference, respectively, in field goal percentage.