Box Score

Missed free throws and over 50% shooting from long range by Howard Payne prevented the Louisiana College men from picking up their first conference win Tuesday night in Natchitoches.  The Wildcats missed a total of nine shots from the line while the Yellow Jackets made that many 3-pointers in their 74-68 win.  LC will return to Prather Coliseum on Thursday night to take on Sul Ross State in another American Southwest Conference matchup.

The Wildcats scored the first bucket of the night on a layup by Timothy Stokes and held that lead through 15 minutes of a low scoring first half.  Howard Payne tied the game on a couple different occasions, but each time LC would answer and build their lead to as big as seven points in the half.  Howard Payne's third converted 3-pointer of the half with 3:50 left gave the Yellow Jackets their first lead of the game at 24-23.  They would make three more shot from long range in the final 90 seconds of the half to hold a 37-32 lead at the end of the first half.

LC would erase the five point deficit quickly in the second half when a steal and layup by Taylan Grogan gave the Wildcats the lead back four minutes into the half at 45-43, but that was just as quickly erased on another 3-pointer by Rickey Guillory and Howard Payne would go back on top.  From that point forward Howard Payne would hold seven point leads, three different times but the Wildcats continued to hang around and eventually Grogan came calling again by nailing a 3-pointer from the top of the circle to give LC a 63-62 lead with 4:21 left in the game.

Just as it happened earlier in the second half, a 3-pointer by Howard Payne put them back on top on the ensuing possession.  Over the final four minutes, after falling behind by one point, LC would miss four free throws, including one after a foul on a layup that would have cut the lead to three with 42 seconds left. The Wildcats had four different players finish in double digits on the night, led by Steve Evans with 17 points, just one rebound shy of his second double-double of the season. Grogan finished with 14, his second double digit scoring effort of the year, and Raheem Regis extended his five game streak of 10 or more points.

The Wildcats will return to Northwestern State's Prather Colesium on Thursday to take on Sul Ross State in another American Southwest Conference game, tip off is scheduled for 7:30 pm.