Todd Ryals

Comeback Falls Short for Wildcats

1/26/2017 9:21:00 PM

By: LC Sports Information

Box Score

A late second half run on the heels of a 27-point outburst from Jacquez Coleman fell short for the Wildcats on Thursday night as they dropped their second straight game, 72-66 to UT Tyler. Coleman and reigning East Player of the Week Raheem Regis, combined for 45 of the Wildcats total of 66 on the night.

The Wildcats jumped out to an early 4-0 lead thanks to layups from D'Aaron Davis and Jacquez Coleman on their first two possessions of the game. LC held on to the lead through the first few low scoring minutes of the game before a pair of free throws put the Patriots up 8-7 at the 13:06 mark. The lead changed hands eight times over the next seven minutes until Tyler scored nine unanswered points to go up 30-23 with 4:01 left in the half.

The Wildcats scored six points in the final minute plus of the half to pull within three, but a layup with four seconds left by the Patriots gave them the 37-32 lead at the half. LC went 14-of-20 from the free throw line in the first half after being in the bonus for more than half of the 20-minute period, thanks to 18 first half Tyler fouls.

The Wildcats kept it close through the first four minutes of the second half until a 14-3 Patriot run put them into a commanding 53-39 advantage with 12:54 left in the game. As soon as the lead stretched to 14 points, LC caught first from behind the arc hitting 4-of-6 shots from downtown over the next four minutes to get back within a basket at 53-51.

Twice within a span of about 30 seconds Coleman nailed big 3-pointers to get the Wildcats within a single point or regaining the lead, with just over four minutes to go in the game. Timothy Stokes got the Wildcats down to a single point deficit with 3:26 left, but the team proceeded to go 0-for-6 from the floor for the next 3:23 of game time sealing the Patriots 72-66 victory.

The demon that has plagued the Wildcats all season reared it's head again on this night as the team missed 11 free throws, the fifth time this year they have missed more than 10 shots from the charity stripe in a game.

One week after establishing a career high with 16 points against Ozarks, Jacquez Coleman raised that bar with the second highest single game scoring performance this season for the Wildcats with 27 thanks to 4-of-13 shooting from long distance. Raheem Regis just missed his third straight double-double with 18 points and nine rebounds.

The Wildcats take on East leaders LeTourneau Saturday afternoon, who took down ETBU Thursday night 81-77. Saturday's game will tip-off at 3pm and will be the first of back-to-back meetings between the two teams. LC returns to H.O. West Fieldhouse for the second of the games next Thursday to start a five-game home stand. Stay up to date on the basketball program at lcwildcats.net, by following @LC_MBSK or @LC_Wildcats on Twitter, or liking LC Athletics on Facebook.

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