HATTIESBURG, Miss. – The Louisiana Christian University men's basketball team got 16 points from
Tomario Thomas, Jr., but surrendered an 18-0 run early in the second half and lost 92-37 to the #23 William Carey Crusaders Saturday afternoon at Clinton Gymnasium.
Louisiana Christian (1-4) faced a 7-0 deficit to #23 William Carey (2-2) before
Daniel Mitchell scored their first basket off an assist from
Zaydrien Sewell with 16:51 left in the first half.
Kevin Wiltz supplied six of LCU's first eight points, twice cutting the margin to eight with baskets at 15:10 and 13:25. Wiltz finished with six points on 3-of-6 shooting and no turnovers in 14 minutes off the bench.
Thomas helped LCU respond after the deficit reached 23-8. His second 3-pointer, assisted by
Rambo Eagins, pulled the Wildcats within 24-14 with 6:25 remaining. The Crusaders answered with seven consecutive points and later pushed the margin to 35-16. Thomas made two more 3-pointers before the break, bringing LCU within 36-22 at 1:42, but the Wildcats entered halftime trailing 39-22.
It was more of Thomas to start the second half as he scored LCU's first points of the period at 18:22 to make it 41-24. The Wildcats then went more than five minutes without scoring as William Carey stretched the lead to 59-24. He ended the drought with a basket at 13:02 and finished with a team-high 16 points on 6-of-11 shooting, including 4-of-6 from beyond the arc.
LCU continued to find contributions through its passing and rebounding.
James Stampley IV made a 3-pointer off Sewell's third assist with 10:52 remaining, and Eagins added a layup at 6:17.
Tim Ferguson III led the Wildcats with nine rebounds, while Sewell collected six rebounds and accounted for half of the team's six assists.
Desmond Atkins recorded two steals, and
Isaac Ratliff supplied LCU's lone block. The Wildcats grabbed 12 offensive rebounds and produced 13 second-chance points.
Turnovers and shooting struggles prevented LCU from sustaining those efforts. The Wildcats committed 27 turnovers and were outscored 31-3 in points off turnovers. LCU shot 14-of-55 overall, including 5-of-29 in a second half in which it was outscored 53-15. William Carey shot 51.5%, made 13-of-30 3-pointers and held a 44-35 rebounding advantage. Franklin finished with 25 points, while Avan Wilson added 17.
Ferguson made LCU's final basket, a 3-pointer assisted by Stampley with 3:00 remaining, to make it 84-37.
The Wildcats will look to bounce back in their next contest as they return to the Crescent City to take on former Red River Athletic foe, Xavier. Tip-off of Monday's contest against the Gold Rush (2-2) is set for 7 p.m. at the Convocation Center.
