Box Score

For a team comprised mostly of freshmen and sophomores, the Louisiana College Wildcats looked like a team beyond their years Thursday night in defeating a tough Howard Payne team, 88-82, in front of 610 fans at H.O West Fieldhouse.
 
Leading the way was LC's sophomore trio of Anthony Gaines, Kevin Cottonham and Kevin Lewis who combined for 65 of LC's points in the win. Freshman Dillon Mandeville came off the bench to hit three huge 3-point shots in the final moments to help the Wildcats rally for the win.
 
In the process, LC, now 5-4 overall and 5-2 in the American Southwest Conference broke a two-game losing streak that had seen them lose games at Texas-Dallas and Hardin-Simmons the previous week after starting 4-0.
 
"This was big," Gaines said. "Coming off that two-game losing streak. We needed something to bounce us back. This was a really important win."
 
And it didn't come without a struggle. The Wildcats trailed 33-32 at the half after shooting just 33-percent. But the Wildcats used patience against the Yellow Jackets' zone in the second half and found themselves with much better shot opportunities resulting in a 20-for-30 (67-percent) performance and 56 points in the game's last 20 minutes.
 
The key sequence in the game came with nine minutes left. That's when Cottonham, LC's floor leader, picked up his fourth foul. Coach Gene Rushing opted to leave his point guard in. The gamble paid off as Cottonham not only avoided a fifth foul, but also proved instrumental in the Cats breaking down what had been Howard Payne's challenging zone defense. Cottonham finished with 22 points and 10 assists.
 
"(Coach Rushing) told me I had to stay aggressive," Cottonham said. "I didn't want to let me teammates down."
 
"I told him, 'you have to play defense, but you have to play smart,'" Rushing said. "And not only that, he had to be very careful against their defense because they were going to try to draw a charge."
 
Another move that paid off for Rushing and the Wildcats was the decision to insert freshman Dillon Mandeville into the game with 9:05 left. The 6-3 forward from New Iberia would stroke three 3-point shots over the next four minutes – giving the Wildcats a 76-69 lead with 5:37 to play.
 
"We were struggling on offense, and I just wanted to come in and help my team," Mandeville said. "Hopefully, I'll be that guy who can come in and help my team out."
 
"I felt like he was due," Rushing said. "He had not been shooting it well, but you go with your gut instincts sometimes – and sometimes it works out."
 
Also contributing in the games final minutes was another freshman, forward Steve Evans of Atlanta High School, who hit a huge rebound put-back shot with 2:29 left and later hit a free throw to keep LC with a mildly comfortable lead, 80-76, with 1:10 to play. The Wildcats sealed the win with a layup and four free throws from Cottonham in the final minute.
 
Gaines finished as LC's leading scorer with 24 points and seven rebounds. Lewis finished with 19. The Wildcats also held an important advantage on the boards – finishing with a 37-29 rebounding edge. LC held Howard Payne to just 10 rebounds in the second half.
 
"It's a huge win, very important," Rushing said. "We did not play well after the holiday break. This was a good win – we really needed it. Any league win is a good win because they're all tough."
 
Next up for the Wildcats is a Saturday matchup with Sul Ross State. Tip-off is at approximately 3:30 p.m., following the LC women's game.