Todd Ryals

Wildcats Fall to Hardin-Simmons 71-66

12/2/2017 7:24:00 PM

By: LC Sports Information - Brad Welborn

Box Score

The Louisiana College men's basketball team could not hold off Hardin-Simmons University on Saturday evening in a 71-66 loss to the Cowboys. The loss drops the Wildcats to 0-4 on the season as they remain winless in American Southwest Conference play. LC returns to the Rapides Coliseum next Saturday for an exhibition game against Northwestern State University.

The Wildcats began the game with easily their best performance of the season. A three point shot from Diallo Small capped an 11-2 run by the Wildcats to start the game, but the lead would quickly evaporate as Hardin-Simmons scored eight straight to get within one of the LC. The Cats were able to hold their lead for the next several minutes, but could not put distance between themselves and the Cowboys until a three-pointer by the Cowboys gave them the lead with 11:06 left in the first half.

The game remained close the rest of the half with the Wildcats taking the lead back from HSU on two separate occasions on a layup by Lashard Powell with just over five minutes to go and another from Jacob Jennings with two minutes left. A three pointer by HSU on the ensuing possession put them back on top and served as the final points of the half, a 33-31 Hardin-Simmons lead.

The Wildcats came out strong once again to start a half, scoring 10 of the first 12 points of the half to take a 41-36 lead through the first five minutes of play. The LC lead stretched to seven on a long ball from Travis Schultz midway through the half, but once again Hardin-Simmons would find an answer. A run of nine straight points put the Cowboys back on top 50-48 with 6:13 left in the game. The Wildcats tied the game on two more occasions over the next two minutes on layups from Devon Washington and Rex Hollis, but were unable to retake the lead the rest of the way.

Solid free throw shooting for Hardin-Simmons over the final 3:40 of play helped them maintain their advantage and secure their first win of the season. The Cowboys went a perfect 9-for-9 from the free throw line during the final minutes of the game.

Devon Washington led all scorers in the game with 20 points, adding eight rebounds along the way, just missing his first double-double of the season. Freshman Lashard Powell had another double-digit effort with 16 points on 6-of-14 shooting. D'Aaron Davis led all rebounders with 11 in the game, missing a double-double of his own by just two points, finishing with eight on the night.

The Wildcats play again next Saturday at Rapides Coliseum in an exhibtion game for LC against their neighbors to the north, Northwestern State. Tip-off is scheduled for 6pm. The Wildcats then begin play over Christmas break with a trip to Birmingham-Southern December 11 before another pair of ASC games December 14 and 16. 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.

Print Friendly Version