Pilots fall 90-69 to Texas A&M-Commerce
December 17, 2004
Commerce, TX---The LSUS Pilots traveled to Commerce, TX Thursday night to take on the Texas A & M-Commerce Lions. The Pilots trailed early and could never fight their way back into contention as the Lions went on to an 90-69 victory over LSUS.
The Pilots struggled out of the box shooting 3-14 from the field and found themselves trailing 20-7 at the 12:16 mark of the first half. Fredericko Payne scored the first 5 Pilot points before having to exit with an injury.
Jonathon Hopkins was controlling the game putting in 13 points and collecting 4 rebounds early. At the mid-point of the first half, the Pilots trailed 25-13.
Derrick Rogers hit a three-point shot at the 4:48 mark to cut the Lions lead to 34-23, however, the Pilots continued to struggle from the field connecting on only 10 of their first 32 shots.
A Lions technical foul at the 0:40 second mark put Derrick Rogers on the free throw line to cut the lead to 40-28. The Pilots then missed another bonus free throw but managed to get a defensive stop and opted to hold the ball for the last possession of the half. Derrick Rogers penetrated the lane and passed off to Derrick Hill who slammed in his 6th point of the half, cutting the lead to 10 heading into the locker room.
Hopkins led the Lions offense finishing the half with 13 points and 6 rebounds. Jermart Miller pitched in with 9 points on 4-9 shooting. The Lions finished the half shooting 37% from the field connecting on 14-38 shots; 3-9 from beyond the three-point line. The Lions connected on 9-10 free throws in the half.
The Pilots struggled offensively the entire half making only 12-36 from the field, and were only 4-16 from behind the three-point line. The LSUS shooting woes carried over to the free throw line, as the Pilots connected on only 2-9 attempts. Derrick Rogers led the Pilots with 8 points, while Derrick Hill pitched in with 6 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 blocked shots.
“Free throws were the difference. We were 2-9 from the line including missing the front end on three bonus shots. We came out soft, and it hurt us,” commented head coach Chad McDowell at the half about his Pilots.
The Lions started the second half on a 10-1 run to put the Pilots down 50-31 as the Pilots continued to struggle to score. LSUS cut the lead to as little as 11 but could not hold off the Lions offense. Lions Jermart Miller finished with a game high 17 points. Chris Fantroy pitched in with 16 points and 8 rebounds, while Jonathon Hopkins picked up 11 points and 10 rebounds for the games only double-double. The Lions finished shooting 45 % from the field including 10-23 from beyond the three point line, and 20-28 from the free throw line.
Fredericko Payne was held under 20 points for the first time this season as he finished with 14 to lead all Pilot scorers. Justin Collins finished with 13 points and 5 assists and teammate Derrick Sowell pulled down 10 rebounds to go along with 4 assists and 4 points.
LSUS finished shooting 35% from the field on 24-68 shooting. The Pilots connected on 7-29 three-point shots and were 14-25 from the charity stripe.
LSUS (8-4) will have a well deserved break until December 28 when they will take to the road again to square off against TexasWesleyanUniversity in Dallas, TX.
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