PINEVILLE, La. – The Louisiana Christian University men's basketball team watched Southwest walk to the free throw line 28 times in the second half alone, hitting 20 and helping the Mustangs pull out an 81-76 win over the Wildcats Saturday evening on the Gene Rushing Court at H.O. West Fieldhouse.
 
Trailing 7-5 in the early going, Louisiana Christian (4-13, 2-9 RRAC) went on a 14-4 run with Zaydrien Sewell hitting a jump shot to give the Wildcats a 19-11 lead with 9:10 left in the first half.
 
LCU maintained that first half lead and when Tomario Thomas, Jr. hit a couple free throws with 6:38 before halftime, the Wildcats enjoyed their largest lead of the game at nine points, 24-15.
 
Southwest (5-13, 2-10 RRAC) scored the next seven points to cut that lead down to two points, but LCU was able to end the run as Bryce Weinmunson got into the lane and scored, keeping the Wildcats ahead. Louisiana Christian took a 31-28 lead into the halftime locker room.
 
The start of the second half looked much like the first as LCU was able to maintain an edge, pushing the lead back up to its peak of nine points as Weinmunson hit a couple free throws to make it 46-37 with 14:32 left in the game.
 
But that's where the game turned against the Wildcats as USW scored the next 17 points, taking a 54-46 lead before Weinmunson got into the paint and scored to stem the tide.
 
But that score didn't fully stop the onslaught as the Mustangs scored the next nine points, making the overall run 26-2, and take the largest lead of the game for either team at 63-48 with 7:08 to go.
 
Trailing by 13, 74-61, with just over a minute left, the Wildcats were able to get off a furious rally to try and steal the win back, going on a 15-5 run to cut the deficit to just three points, 79-76, with two seconds remaining. However, USW converted a couple free throws to seal the result before a final heave could be made.
 
Weinmunson led the way for the Wildcats with 20 points, six assists, five steals, and four rebounds.
 
Drew Tebbe ended the afternoon with 15 points, five assists, four rebounds, and a couple steals.
 
Justice Kelly hit five of his seven shot attempts, including the late three-pointer, to end the day with 14 points, six rebounds, three assists, and blocked three USW shots.
 
Thomas, Jr. came off the bench to score eight points, hitting a couple three-pointers in the process.
 
LCU outshot USW in the contest, hitting more field goals overall, 29 to 26, and in percentage, 51.8 percent to 47.3 percent. The Mustangs hit two more three-point field goals than the Wildcats, 8-6.
 
But it was the stripe which proved to be the difference maker as, after getting just two free throw attempts with one make in the first half, USW ended up making 21 of 30 from the charity stripe in the contest. For its part, LCU was four of six from the free throw line at halftime and finished with 12 makes on 16 attempts total from the line once the game ended.
 
The Wildcats look to rebound on Thursday as Xavier makes the drive up from the Crescent City. Tip-off of Thursday's contest against the Gold Rush (11-5, 8-3 RRAC) is set for 7:30 p.m. on Gene Rushing Court at H.O. West Fieldhouse.