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Marshall, Tx. - Coming off their best shooting night in nearly a decade, the Louisiana College men's basketball team could not quite find the same shooting touch that they had against the Ozarks on Saturday, as they struggled from the field in a 76-65 loss to rival East Texas Baptist University on Thursday night in Marshall, Texas.

After taking a 6-2 lead at the 17:02 mark of the first half, the Wildcats went cold, going just 2-for-19 over the next over the next 11 minutes.

It was the complete opposite story for the Tigers, as ETBU went 8-for-12 in that same stretch, highlighted by a 21-4 run from the 17:02 mark to the 7:34 mark when the Tigers stretched their lead to 23-10 on a Chad Herring free throw.

The Wildcats would end the first half with a 33% (10-33) shooting mark from the field.

LC would start the second half out slow as well, but an offensive onslaught from Anthony Gaines, Jr. gave the Wildcats new life and nearly put them in position for a late game comeback.

The star junior forward scored seven of the Wildcats first 11 points in the second half, and 20 of their 38 total points after halftime.

Gaines, Jr. led a 14-4 run from the 5:10 mark to the 1:46 mark of the second half that put LC down by just eight points at 71-63, the closet they had been since they trailed 18-10 midway through the first half.

But despite their efforts in the second half, which included a 51.7% (15-29) shooting performance from the field, the Tigers' determination was evident all night, as they shot 53.6% (15-28) in the final twenty minutes to hold off LC's late surge.

The Wildcats struggled all game from long range, going just 2-for-13 (15.4%) from behind the three-point line.

Gaines, Jr. would finish the night with a game-high 30 points, the third highest total of his career, on 13-for-19 shooting from the field to go along with a team-high six rebounds.

Fellow junior Kevin Cottonham was the only other Wildcat in double figures in scoring, finishing with 12 points, four assists, and four steals.

The Wildcats (7-7 overall, 7-4 in ASC play) fall to fifth place in the conference standings, as ETBU (13-4 overall, 8-4 in ASC) took a 0.5 game lead over LC with the head-to-head win.

Louisiana College will host LeTourneau on Saturday at 3:00 p.m. in their first home game of the season, which will also be the annual "Fill The Fieldhouse" game for the Wildcats.