Pilots beat Bulldogs 84-51
January 31, 2006
Jackson, MS---The LSUS Pilots held the Tougaloo College Bulldogs to just 23 first half points Monday night with a tenacious defensive effort forcing 13 turnovers and collecting nine steals to take a 42-23 lead at the half. The Pilots domination continued in the second half on both ends of the floor and they went on to collect their 19th win of the season by a final score of 84-51.
Fredericko Payne scored 11 of the first 15 Pilots points in the first half as the Pilots jumped out to a 15-8 lead at the 11:24 mark.
Shadrach Roome collected offensive rebounds and two point baskets on consecutive trips to cap an 18-7 run which built the Pilots lead to 33-17 with 2:58 remaining in the first half.
Pilot forward Anton Palmer poured in five points in the final minute giving the Pilots their biggest lead of the half heading into the locker room ahead 42-23.
The 23 points allowed by the Pilots was the lowest point total allowed in a single half this season. A deep bench allowed Head Coach Chad McDowell to use 11 players in the first half, eight of which tallied the score sheet, and six different Pilots collected steals.
In the second half the Pilots put the game out of reach early opening with a 30-11 run and led 70-32 with 7:24 remaining.
Payne led all scorers with 22 points and collected a game high four steals for the Pilots. Roome collected a game high 13 rebounds and added 12 points while Palmer finished with 11 points off the bench. Derrick Sowell showed the Bulldog based crowd two rim shaking dunks as part of his 10 point performance, while six other Pilots tallied two or more points.
Kevin McCoy led the Bulldogs with 12 points and six rebounds while teammate William Jones added five points and a team high seven rebounds. The Bulldogs were held to just 20-of-54 shooting from the floor which included 2-of-12 from beyond the three-point line.
With the victory the Pilots improved to 19-3 overall and 6-2 in the GCAC, tied for second with the University of Mobile Rams. The Pilots will have a chance to break that tie this upcoming Saturday as they will square off against the Rams at The Dock at 7:00pm.
