Clayton Noakes

Wildcats Blow Past Eagles

2/16/2018 1:04:00 AM

By: LC Sports Information - Brad Welborn

Box Score

In one of their most complete games of the season the Louisiana College men's basketball team ran away from the University of the Ozarks in an 85-51 win on Thursday night at Rapides Coliseum. The Wildcats took advantage of 21 Eagle turnovers and held them to a 31.7 field goal percentage for the largest margin of victory under Head Coach Reni Mason. The Wildcats finish the season with a 4 p.m. matchup against the University of Texas at Tyler at Rapides Coliseum.

The two teams traded points through the first eight minutes of play with neither one holding a more than one possession lead on the other. It wasn't until back-to-back layups from Devon Washington and Travis Schultz that LC took a four-point advantage. Those baskets would start a 12-2 run by the Wildcats that carried them to a 27-17 lead at the 9:21 mark of the first half.

Another big stretch that carried them through the end of the half seemingly put the game squarely in the Wildcats' hands, ending the first with a 17-3 run. The Wildcats made four 3-pointers in the final 2:43 of the half with Nick Burks draining two in the span of 40 seconds then capping the first 20 minutes with a layup at the buzzer to put LC ahead 46-25 at the break.

Burks finished the half with an even 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting, all coming in the final 3:30 of the first. He went on to add 14 more in the second half, including the final seven points of the game for LC in the span of just over a minute, finishing with 24 total on 9-of-13 from the field and 4-of-5 from behind the arc.

LC continued to pull away in the second half, as their impressive 56 percent shooting performance from the first carried over easily into the second. The Wildcats made 15 of their 28 shot attempts in the second half for 53 percent. The continued efficiency on offense combined with the well-known LC defense snowballed into a 30-point deficit for the Eagles on Thursday night.

Nick Burks was the game's leading scorer with 24 points, following closely behind by Devon Washington with 21 points, adding eight rebounds on the night. Lashard Powell finished with double figures once again at 13 points, and Taylan Grogan added 11 more for his effort.

The Wildcats close the season on Saturday afternoon at 4 p.m. with a game against UT Tyler at Rapides Coliseum. The Wildcats men have one senior on the squad this year, Torrian Lee, who will be recognized between the women's and men's game Saturday afternoon. 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