Todd Ryals

Wildcats Win 96-86 Over BSC

12/11/2017 7:50:00 PM

Box Score

The Louisiana College men's basketball team erased a double-digit, first half deficit on Monday night to pick up their first win of the season 96-86 over Birmingham-Southern College. In their first action of the season, the sophomore duo of Taylan Grogan and Nick Burks combined for 38 total points along with a 16 point, 16 rebound effort from big man Devon Washington. The Wildcats return to Rapides Coliseum for a pair of American Southwest Conference games this weekend.

Birmingham-Southern came out shooting early in the game, and knocking down several shots from long range that helped them build an early double-digit advantage. Four of the first five shots the Panthers converted were all from behind the arc and gave them a 14-6 lead through the first six and a half minutes of the game. LC got within a couple of possessions at the under 12 media timeout but a 9-2 run by the Panters stretched their lead to 25-13 by the next break.

Still down by double figures with 3:40 left in the half, the Wildcats began to erase the BSC lead. A three-ball by Timothy Stokes and a fast break layup form Torrian Lee quickly cut the lead down to six with just under three minted to go. A steal from Stokes on the next possession and another three from freshman Lashard Powell made it a 35-32 game at the 2:26 mark of the half. BSC converted on a pair of jumpers in the final two minutes but two clutch three point shots in the final 70 seconds from Lee, including a half time buzzer beater, made it a 41-38 game at the half.

LC carried their momentum into the second half, taking the lead for the first time with four straight points on a layup from Rex Hollis and a pair of free throws from Devon Washington to go on top 42-41 just 30 seconds into the second half. The BSC pressure would lead to three straight LC turnovers and a stretch of 10 straight Panther points to turn the game back to the home team's favor less than a minute later. The Wildcats were able to settle themselves after the point blitz from BSC and began working their way back to the lead.

Solid shooting over the next six minutes of play led to a 23-7 LC run that put them ahead 65-58 at the midway point of the second half. The Wildcats went 9-of-14 from the floor during that stretch including 2-for-2 from the free throw line to put themselves in good position to pick up their first win of the season. The Wildcats had the lead and with by far their best free throw shooting performance of the season LC would ice the game from the line over the final two minutes of play. The Wildcats went 11-for-12 from the line in the final 1:42 of the game and 22-of-23 for the night, compared to an 11-for-20 effort from Birmingham-Southern.

Devon Washington had one of his best games for LC this year with his first double-double of the season with 16 points and 16 rebounds. Taylan Grogan led the Wildcats with 23 points, Nick Burks finished with 15 points on 5-of-8 shooting, and Lejawon Leblanc was the fourth Wildcat in double digits with 10 points on 5-of-6 shooting. Timothy Stokes added seven points and seven assists in the game.

The Wildcats return to ASC play later this week at Rapides Coliseum taking on Sul Ross State University on Thursday night at 7:30 pm. They then host Howard Payne University on Saturday at 4pm in their final game before Christmas. This weekend's games are the last home games for the Wildcats until January 18. Stay connected to Louisiana College men's basketball all season by following @LC_MBSK on Twitter. For general athletics news follow @LC_Wildcats on Twitter or like Louisiana College Wildcats on Facebook.

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