Crusaders cruise to 85-72 victory over Pilots
January 21, 2007
Hattiesburg, MS---The No. 11 LSUS Pilots (13-3, 4-2) entered Saturday’s contest over the William Carey College Crusaders (11-6, 5-3) looking to maintain the top spot in the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference. The struggling Crusaders had won just one of their previous four GCAC contests and were up against the Pilots who were sporting a four game winning streak, however, WCC made a huge stand on their home court in front of 750 fans in attendance and defeated the Pilots 85-72.
The first half saw the Pilots jump out to a 14-7 lead after Jamon Morris collected an offensive rebound and put back his third basket at the 15:51 mark.
Jarekus Singleton and Dexter Cheairs poured in nine points a piece throughout the remainder of the half which finished with the Crusaders ahead 40-36 at the break.
The Crusaders quickly stretched their lead to 10 points early in the second half after a Jeremy Holder put back had WCC ahead 47-37.
The Pilots offense needed a spark and for the second contest in a row it came off the bench. Carlon “Snoop” Simmons was an instrumental part of the Pilots 89-85 victory over the Belhaven College Blazers Thursday night at The Dock after pouring in eight second half points.
Simmons promptly made an immediate impact off the bench again Saturday for the Pilots scoring 11 consecutive LSUS points which included a 3-of-3 effort from behind the three point line and had the Pilots within one, 51-50, with 12:45 remaining.
That would be as close as the Pilots would come on this day however as Singleton continued to have the answer for the Crusaders on the offensive end leading them to an 85-72 victory.
Singleton finished with a team high 23 points and nine assist while Cheairs added 19 points. Scotty Fletcher and Holder combined for 28 points and eight rebounds for the Crusaders who out shot the Pilots 51%-43% from the floor. WCC connected on 26-of-31 free throw attempts while LSUS finished 7-of-11 from the line.
The Pilots streak of eight consecutive games in which they out rebounded their opponent came to an end Saturday as WCC won the battle of the boards by a 35-30 margin.
Simmons led the Pilots offense with a career high 23 points on 8-of-12 shooting which included a 6-of-9 performance from beyond the arc. Morris finished with his fourth consecutive double-double after finishing with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Pilots point guard Freddy Hughes finished with 15 points, six assists, and five steals.
The Pilots will look to break a three-way tie for second place in the GCAC Monday night against the Tougaloo College Bulldogs. LSUS, TC, and the University of Mobile Rams each sport 4-2 conference records and trail the 5-2 Southern University of New Orleans by one game. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30pm at The Dock.
