Todd Ryals

Win Slips Through Cats' Hands

12/16/2017 9:19:00 PM

By: LC Sports Information - Brad Welborn

Box Score

In a tale of two halves, the Louisiana College men's basketball team let their first American Southwest Conference win of the season slip through their fingers to the visiting Howard Payne Yellow Jackets. A 27.8 second half shooting percentage by the Wildcats allowed HPU to work their way back into the lead and take the 72-65 win on Saturday night. The Wildcats return to action after Christmas in two non-conference games in Belton, Texas before the calendar flips to 2018.

The Wildcats played one of their best first halves of the season to take a solid 41-33 lead into the break. The first 10 minutes of play in the game were very evenly matched, as neither team was able to pull away from the other. Howard Payne held the lead for the majority of the time but the Wildcats were never more than five points back of the Jackets. The Wildcats took their first lead of the game on a layup by Timothy Stokes at the 6:08 mark of the first half, 24-23. His basket was the second of a 9-0 run by the Wildcats to put themselves ahead by six with just over five minutes left.

Howard Payne pushed back within a couple the rest of the way but LC was able to finish the first half strong turning a three-point lead into an eight-point lead over the final two minutes. Rex Hollis, Devon Washington, and Lashard Powell all scored for the Wildcats in the final two minutes and the Wildcats went into the half with the lead for the first time this season.

The Wildcats continued to hold their lead through the first 14 minutes of the half, but the Jackets continually chipped away at it. An acrobatic layup by HPU's Timothy Aguero put the Jackets back on top for the first time since the 6:38 mark of the first half. The lead changed back to LC just one more time on a Timothy Stokes layup with 4:23 to go, but HPU answered with a three-pointer from the right corner on the ensuing possession to go ahead 61-59. That started a 10-0 run by the Jackets that pushed their lead to nine with less than a minute remaining in the game.

A jumper from Stokes and another from Washington after a HPU turnover cut the lead to five, but perfect free throw shooting by the Yellow Jackets prevented the LC comeback. The Wildcats went 0-for-6 during the HPU 10-0 run near the end of the half with all six shots coming from behind the arc. As a team the Wildcats went 10-for-36 from the field in the second half while Howard Payne converted on 14 of their 26 attempts in the half.

Devon Washington completed his second double-double of the week with 19 points and 13 rebounds in the game. Lashard Powell had another double digit scoring effort with 12 points and Timothy Stokes finished with 10 points and five assists.

LC travels to Belton, Texas for the Cru Holiday Classic at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor where they will take on Milwaukee School of Engineering and Millsaps College December 28 and 29. The Wildcats play their next home game January 18 as they take on East Texas Baptist at H.O. West Fieldhouse. Stay connected to Louisiana College men's basketball 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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