NEW ORLEANS – The Louisiana Christian University men's basketball team had a two-point halftime lead but struggles shooting in the last 20 minutes doomed the Wildcats in a 65-52 loss to the Dillard Bleu Devils Friday night at Albert W. Dent Hall.
Louisiana Christian (1-3) recovered from an 8-0 deficit behind
Daniel Mitchell and
Cam Ned. Ned assisted on Mitchell's opening 3-pointer and another basket that brought the Wildcats within 14-12 of Dillard (1-2) with 14:28 left in the first half, giving Mitchell 10 points already.
Kevin Wiltz then delivered LCU's first lead, 19-18, with a 3-pointer off an
Isaac Ratliff assist at 7:59.
After falling behind 30-24, the Wildcats scored the final eight points of the half.
Rambo Eagins set up Ned's 3-pointer with 2:32 remaining, and Ratliff assisted on Wiltz's tying 3-pointer at 1:39. Ratliff made both free-throw attempts with 18 seconds left to send LCU into halftime ahead 32-30. The Wildcats shot 6-of-11 from beyond the arc and made all four of their free throws in the opening half.
Mitchell's layup restored a 34-32 advantage early in the second half, but LCU went nearly four minutes without scoring as the Bleu Devils moved ahead 41-34. Ratliff ended that stretch with a layup off Ned's assist at 15:05. Mitchell later turned a steal into an assist on Eagins' layup, cutting the deficit to 47-38, before the Wildcats fell behind by 13 with 10:28 remaining.
LCU kept working back.
Desmond Atkins dunked off a Ned assist to make it 51-42 with 7:31 left, and Mitchell's 3-pointer off an Eagins pass narrowed the deficit to 54-46 at 6:06. Dillard answered with a basket and later scored seven straight points to push the margin to 63-47 at 3:50.
Zaydrien Sewell assisted on Mitchell's basket that ended the run, while Atkins supplied the game's final points with a dunk following an offensive rebound with 35 seconds remaining.
Mitchell finished with 19 points, seven rebounds and two steals, shooting 8-of-19 overall and 3-of-6 from 3-point range without a turnover in 37 minutes. Ned contributed nine points, six rebounds and five assists, while Wiltz scored eight points. Ratliff added five points, six rebounds and three of LCU's five blocks. Eagins finished with six points and five rebounds, and Atkins made both of his shots for four points.
The Wildcats recorded 15 assists on 19 baskets but shot 32.8% overall, including 8-of-29 in the second half. LCU limited Dillard to 34.8% shooting but was outrebounded 49-42 and outscored 32-12 in the paint. Its 17 turnovers also contributed to an 18-9 deficit in points off turnovers.
The Wildcats head to Hattiesburg, Miss. on Saturday for a date with #23 William Carey. Tip-off of Saturday's contest against the #23 Crusaders (1-2) is set for 2 p.m. in Clinton Gymnasium.
