Pilots battle hard for big RRAC Win
February 15, 2012
SHREVEPORT, La. - The LSU Shreveport Pilots men's basketball team picked up their second four-point win over the Saint Thomas Celts with a 65-61 win at The Dock on Wednesday night.LSUS (19-6, 17-3 RRAC) led for most of the first half but St. Thomas gathered momentum with a three-pointer at the buzzer by Jeremy Lewis to trim the LSUS' lead to just one at the break, 33-32.
The Celts (16-10, 14-6 RRAC) came out strong in the second half as they gained and held the lead for the first eight minutes but never led by more than five points as the Pilots kept it close. LSUS regained the lead for good following a long three-pointer by Mark Politte to give the Pilots a 51-49 lead as he finished with eight points.
Derrick Parker, who scored his usual double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds, converted on a three-point play with 5:30 to play in the game to give the Pilots a 56-52 lead. The next four minutes the Pilots outscored the Celts 5-2 until Greg Shyne scored three of his game-high 19 points as he completed a three-point play much like Parkers just four minutes earlier. This gave LSUS a 61-54 lead with 1:45 to play.
St. Thomas was not done yet though as they followed with a three-point play of their own to cut the LSUS' lead back to four five seconds later. With just under a minute to play the Celts made a layup to make it a one possession game with the score at 61-59.
Rydell Harris was fouled on a put back attempt with as he made the back end of a pair from the charity stripe to increase the lead for LSUS by three, 62-59. UST missed a three and Cody Walker grabbed the rebound for the Pilots and was fouled as he made both from the line to give the Pilots a five point lead with 14 seconds to play.
The visitors took one final shot but it was rejected by Parker who finished with three to end the game for a big win for the Pilots as they are propelled to the top of the RRAC standings tied with Our Lady of the Lake. Rydell Harris did a great job off the bench for the Pilots with 23 minutes of action scoring six points and pulling down seven rebounds.
The Pilots continued their winning ways with their 11th straight win including 16 of their last 17. Meanwhile the OLLU Saints have lost two games in a row. The Pilots could claim the regular season conference title if they win out and OLLU loses one.
The LSUS defense did a great job at containing one of the better three-point shooting teams in the NAIA as the Celts made just six in 17 tries.
The next game for the Pilots will begin a three-game road trip before returning to The Dock for the final time this season. LSUS will meet SAGU in Waxahachie, Texas, at 7:30 this Saturday, Feb.18. The next home game will be on Monday, Feb. 27, at 7:30 against Texas College.
