Seahawks hoop team hosts Lee College on Saturday / Lamar State 77, Lee 76

[LamarStatesports]

The Lamar State College-Port Arthur men’s basketball team will be home in the Carl Parker Center this Saturday for a 4 p.m. conference game against Lee College.

Lamar State’s Wednesday game with Kilgore first was moved to Tyler Junior College, then later to Shreveport because of the winter weather.

But the Seahawks apparently didn’t gain any advantage from taking Kilgore out of their home gym. The Runnin’ Rangers easily grounded the visitors, 72-61, to drop Lamar State to 16-7 overall and 5-7 in Region XIV games.

LSC-PA head coach Matt Cross watched his team open strong against Kilgore, but let their lead slip away.

“We started out well against Kilgore, going up 11-1 early on. But after that, we struggled the rest of the night to find any rhythm,” Cross said. “On top of that, we were not able to get the defensive stops in the crucial times that you must come up with to win on the road.

Lee College has struggled to a 9-12 and 2-8 record this season. The Runnin’ Rebels lost all but two of their last seven games, the most recent a 71-61 home loss to Kilgore College this past Saturday.

Lee’s Wednesday night game at Tyler was postponed until Feb. 7 because of the weather.

“Lee is playing much better than they were the first time we faced them,” Cross said. “They lost three or four really close games lately. So, we know they are right there and are determined to come up with a win. We would be crazy to take this team lightly right now.”

Lamar State will travel to Jacksonville on Wednesday for a 7 p.m. conference game against Lon Morris College.

[LamarStatesports]

The Lamar State College-Port Arthur men’s basketball team came away with a close 77-76 win Saturday afternoon over conference rival Lee College.

Lamar State dominated the first half, leading by as many as 13 points and led the Runnin’ Rebels at halftime, 45-35.

But the Seahawks lost their poise during the second half and nearly allowed the game to slip away in the closing seconds.

The Runnin’ Rebels, down by one point, had two chances to win the game with 9.7 seconds on the clock. But starting center Andre Jackson’s desperation shot went in after the final buzzer rang to preserve Lamar State’s win.

Sophomore guard Keenen Coleman put up 20 points to lead the Seahawks. Sophomore guard Vonn Jones had 19 points, and sophomore forward Roman Vaughn added 12.

Vincent Garrett led Lee with 20 points.

Lamar State improves to 17-7 overall and 6-7 in Region XIV games. Lee drops to 9-13 and 2-9

Lamar State travels to Jacksonville on Wednesday for a 7 p.m. conference game against Lon Morris College, which was ranked just outside the Top 25 in this week’s NJCAA poll.