[Information provided by LSU-Shreveport Athletics]
SHREVEPORT, La. – Wednesday night's Red River Athletic Conference matchup at The Dock will be one that the visiting St. Thomas Celts will soon like to forget as the LSU Shreveport Lady Pilots dominated from start to finish with a crushing 43-point 70-27 win.
LSUS (20-6, 18-2 RRAC) picked up their second straight win including being on the winning side of 14 of their last 15 contests. The Lady Pilots shot the ball even better in the second half making half of their shots from the field in a game where they made the first bucket and the last and never trailed.
The Lady Pilots got contributions from everyone who stepped on the floor with eight putting points on the board as they only had three scorers in double figures with Sharde Henry posting the game-high 14 points while Jenna Diakos and Christy Willis each had 10.
The home team out rebounded the visitors 39-28 while Victoria Smith pulled down 13 rebounds leading the game as the only double-digit rebounder.
St. Thomas (6-19, 4-16 RRAC) struggled shooting just 28% from the field in the game including only two three's in 14 attempts while the Lady Pilots nailed seven from downtown in 21 attempts.
The Lady Pilots dominated the first half of play finishing the half with a 21-3 run for a 34-9 halftime lead thanks to a stellar defense that forced 15 turnovers and forced their opponents to shoot a slim 23% from the field in the first half.
The Celts were just one of seven from downtown as they continually tried to get a good shot but the Lady Pilots defense would not allow. LSUS though had a little better success from downtown making four of 14 from beyond the arc while outscoring the visitors 8-2 in the paint.
The next game for the Lady Pilots will begin a three-game road trip as they travel to SAGU in Waxahachie, Texas, for a 5:30 tip-off this Saturday, Feb. 18. The final home game of the season will on Monday, Feb. 27, at 5:30 against Texas College.
Pilots battle hard for big RRAC Win
SHREVEPORT, La. – The LSU Shreveport Pilots men's basketball team picked up their second four-point win over the Saint Thomas Celts with a 65-61 win at The Dock on Wednesday night.
LSUS (19-6, 17-3 RRAC) led for most of the first half but St. Thomas gathered momentum with a three-pointer at the buzzer by Jeremy Lewis to trim the LSUS' lead to just one at the break, 33-32.
The Celts (16-10, 14-6 RRAC) came out strong in the second half as they gained and held the lead for the first eight minutes but never led by more than five points as the Pilots kept it close. LSUS regained the lead for good following a long three-pointer by Mark Politte to give the Pilots a 51-49 lead as he finished with eight points.
Derrick Parker, who scored his usual double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds, converted on a three-point play with 5:30 to play in the game to give the Pilots a 56-52 lead. The next four minutes the Pilots outscored the Celts 5-2 until Greg Shyne scored three of his game-high 19 points as he completed a three-point play much like Parkers just four minutes earlier. This gave LSUS a 61-54 lead with 1:45 to play.
St. Thomas was not done yet though as they followed with a three-point play of their own to cut the LSUS' lead back to four five seconds later. With just under a minute to play the Celts made a layup to make it a one possession game with the score at 61-59.
Rydell Harris was fouled on a put back attempt with as he made the back end of a pair from the charity stripe to increase the lead for LSUS by three, 62-59. UST missed a three and Cody Walker grabbed the rebound for the Pilots and was fouled as he made both from the line to give the Pilots a five point lead with 14 seconds to play.
The visitors took one final shot but it was rejected by Parker who finished with three to end the game for a big win for the Pilots as they are propelled to the top of the RRAC standings tied with Our Lady of the Lake. Rydell Harris did a great job off the bench for the Pilots with 23 minutes of action scoring six points and pulling down seven rebounds.
The Pilots continued their winning ways with their 11th straight win including 16 of their last 17. Meanwhile the OLLU Saints have lost two games in a row. The Pilots could claim the regular season conference title if they win out and OLLU loses one.
The LSUS defense did a great job at containing one of the better three-point shooting teams in the NAIA as the Celts made just six in 17 tries.
The next game for the Pilots will begin a three-game road trip before returning to The Dock for the final time this season. LSUS will meet SAGU in Waxahachie, Texas, at 7:30 this Saturday, Feb.18. The next home game will be on Monday, Feb. 27, at 7:30 against Texas College.
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