LSUS holds off SAGU; Pilots hold Porter in their prayers
November 28, 2006
Shreveport, LA---The LSUS Pilots battled their way to an 80-70 victory over the Southwestern Assemblies of God University Lions Tuesday night at The Dock. While the Pilots came out on top on the scoreboard, they left to go home short one of their teammates, Josh Porter. The senior shooting guard from Shreveport, LA was escorted off the floor in a stretcher after a collision at midcourt left him lying motionless for several minutes until paramedics arrived. To the delight of a breathless crowd, Porter gestured a small hand wave as he was taken for further evaluation.
LSUS led by as many as 15-points in the first half before taking a 41-30 lead into the locker room at halftime. The Pilots won the battle of the boards by a final margin of 26-14 which included nine on the offensive end, and connected on 8-of-9 nine free-throw attempts. Kyile Byrd led the Pilots offense with 12-points and five rebounds. Porter had seven points on 2-of-4 shooting before being escorted of the floor at the 7:00 mark.
SAGU struggled from beyond the arc connecting on just 1-of-7 attempts, and finished just 1-of-6 from the free-throw line, which proved to be the difference in the half. Jake Sones led the Lions with 10-points on 5-of-7 shooting.
Consecutive three-point baskets by Byrd to start the second half stretched the Pilots lead to 47-30. The Pilots continued to increase their lead and led 54-34 with 15:34 remaining.
A 24-11 run over the next 9:00 had the Lions within seven points with 6:54 remaining in the half.
A Greg Tyer and Byrd connected on back-to-back three-point field goals to stretch the Pilots lead back to 13-points, a lead the Pilots would never relinquish as they held on to win by a final score of 80-70.
Julio Osorio finished with 17-points and a game high nine rebounds for the Lions. Sones added 16-points, seven rebounds, and four assists.
The Pilots have anxiously awaited a break out game from Byrd, and Tuesday night proved to be just that as he flirted with a triple-double. Byrd finished with a season high 23-points on 9-of-14 shooting which included 5-of-7 from beyond the arc. He also added eight assists, eight rebounds, two blocks, and two steals.
Blake Whittle struggled to find a rhythm from the floor but battled his way to 20-points and seven rebounds, while Jamon Morris pounded his way to 13-points in the post while collecting a team high nine rebounds.
The Pilots will be idle until Thursday night, December 7, 2006, when they will play host to Champions Baptist College at The Dock. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00pm.
