Men Looking for First ASC Win

1/3/2018 1:34:00 PM

By: LC Sports Information - Brad Welborn

Coming off a dominating 82-47 victory over Millsaps last week, the Louisiana College men's basketball team makes a return trip to Belton, Texas this week, this time to face off with the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor as they return to American Southwest Conference play. The Wildcats take on the Cru Thursday night at 7:30 and then make their way south to Austin for an afternoon affair with Concordia scheduled for Saturday at 4:00 p.m.

Mary Hardin-Baylor 9-4 (2-3) | 6th ASC West

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The Cru come into play with a 9-4 record on the season having won both games in the Cru Holiday Classic last week over Millsaps and the Milwaukee School of Engineering. Overall they have won five of their last six games, the only loss to ASC East foe UT Tyler in a high-scoring 95-93 game in Tyler. UMHB's dynamic offensive approach has three players averaging double figures on the season separated by the slimmest of margins. Junior guard LaKendric Hyson leads the team with a 15.5 per game average with Demarius Cress right behind at 15.3 and freshman Sam Moore at 15.2 points per game. The Cru have an 84.5 point per game average as a team, sixth best in the conference, and have a 47.6% field goal percentage on the season, the fourth best percent in the ASC. Tip-off between the Cru and the Wildcats is scheduled for approximately 7:30 p.m. Thursday evening at the Mayborn Campus Center in Belton, Texas.

Concordia (TX) 8-4 (2-2) | 3rd ASC West

LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO

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The Tornado will take on Belhaven on Thursday evening before hosting the Wildcats on Saturday afternoon in Austin. Concordia boasts the conference's top offense with a 93.4 point per game average in 12 games. The Tornado fell 81-79 their last time out against Bethel College (KS) last Saturday, the only time in December they did not score more than 90 points in a game. Bethel also snapped a four game winning streak in the process. The Tornado have five players with double-digit point per game averages this season, led by junior guard Joe Neal with 18.5 per game, fourth best average in the conference. Neal also leads the team in rebounding this year at 7.2 per game. Ephriam Price has a 17.8 point per game average as well, and ranks in the top 10 in the conference in scoring. As a team Concordia ranks third in field goal percentage (47.8), and 3-point shooting (36.1), and first in free throw shooting (74.2) in the conference. Tip-off is scheduled for approximately 4:00 p.m. on Saturday afternoon at the Concordia Fieldhouse in Austin, Texas.

Louisiana College 2-7 (0-4) | 7th ASC East

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The Wildcats picked up an impressive win in their last game of 2017 over Millsaps last Friday, after suffering a heartbreaking loss in the final seconds the day before to MSOE. LC will hope to carry that momentum back to Belton this week as they continue to search for their first conference win of the season. A staple of the Wildcats identity over the past three seasons has been defense and LC is currently third in the ASC in scoring defense, holding their opponents to 75.9 points per game. The 82 point outburst against Millsaps was the second highest point total of the season this year, the top spot coming in the 96-86 win over Birmingham-Southern. The addition of sophomore Taylan Grogan has infused the Wildcats with more dynamic scoring presence and is averaging 14.6 points in five games this year. Devon Washington is also at 14.6 point per game in nine games and freshman Lashard Powell has an 11.9 point average. Powell scored a career best 20 points in the win over Millsaps on 5-of-10 shooting from the floor and a 7-for-7 performance from the free throw line. LC has the second best free throw shooting percentage in the conference at 73.2%.

The Wildcats take on Mary Hardin-Baylor Thursday evening at 7:30 p.m. in Belton and can be watched live via the links provided above courtesy of UMHB. After their game Thursday LC takes off for Austin and a matchup with Concordia (TX). Live coverage of Saturday's 4:00 p.m. tip-off are also provided above courtesy of Concordia. The Wildcats begin the 2018 portion of the schedule with four straight conference road games before returning home on January 18 for the annual "Fill the Fieldhouse" night against East Texas Baptist. 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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