Pilots improve to 8-0 with 83-72 win over Scots
November 26, 2005
Conway, AR---The LSUS Pilots squared off against the 24th ranked Lyon College Scots in Day Two action of the Central Baptist College Classic Saturday afternoon. The Pilots used 29 points and 10 rebounds from Chicago native Anton Palmer who collected his 7th double-double in eight games to defeat the Scots by a final score of 83-72 to improve to 8-0 on the season.
Jonathan Donaldson connected on his fifth field goal of the first half at the 12:50 mark to give the Scots a 21-14 lead. The Scots lead would be short lived however as consecutive field goals by Pilot point guard Freddy Hughes capped a 13-4 run and gave the Pilots a 27-25 lead with 8:26 remaining.
Josh Porter connected on a three-point field goal at the 2:06 mark giving the Pilots their largest lead of the half, 40-32. LCS cut the Pilot lead in half after an 8-4 run to end the half sent the Scots to the locker room trailing 44-40.
Donaldson led all scorers at the break with 16 points on 6-of-9 shooting and collected a team high five rebounds. Jason Donaldson pitched in with 11 points and three rebounds while Norris Weintz had nine points and five assists. The Scots finished the half 17-of-42 (41%) from the floor which included 4-of-12 from the three point line ad 6-of-8 from the charity stripe.
Leading the Pilot offense in the first half was Palmer who collected 14 points and five rebounds. Porter collected 13 points on 5-of-14 from floor and added four rebounds and two assists. The Pilots finished the half 17-of-42 (41%) from the floor which included just 4-of-12 from the three point line and 6-8 from the free throw line.
In the second half, Weintz connected on two free throw attempts at the 15:45 mark to put the Scots ahead 50-48. The Pilots offense however kicked it into high gear and rattled off a 13-2 run which was capped by a three point field goal by Palmer to take a 61-52 lead at the 11:06 mark.
The Pilots stretched their lead to as many as 16 points in the final minutes which proved to be too much for the Scotts as the Pilots went on to win by a final score of 83-72.
“We are a young squad who is still learning how to play the game. I thought we played tough but they were too quick and too strong in the second half,” commented Scotts Head Coach Kevin Jenkins.
“It seemed as though just when we were going to make a run after a big basket, they called a timeout and it killed our momentum,” said Jenkins.
The Scots were led by Donaldson who poured in a season high 37 points on 15-of-23 shooting which included 4-of-9 from the three point line and 8-9 from the charity stripe, while adding a team high nine assists.
“He is capable of putting up big numbers every night when he puts his mind to it,” commented Jenkins of Donaldson.
Weintz finished with 15 points, six assists, and five rebounds while J. Donaldson added 11 points and five rebounds to round off the Scots offense that shot a combined 47% (29-62) from the field and were out rebounded by a 42-37 margin by the Pilots.
“Coach McDowell has assembled a very athletic team who are very deserving of their Top 10 ranking this year,” concluded Jenkins.
The Pilots connected on 14-of-27 (52%) field goal attempts in the second half and finished a combined 31-of-69 (45%) from the field for the game. The 83-72 victory was due in large part of the play of Palmer who poured in 29 points and collected 10 rebounds for the games only double-double performance. Palmer finished 12-of-18 from the floor which included 4-of-4 from beyond the three point line.
“We continue to get solid performances from everyone, and each night it seems to be someone different who shines on the stat sheet. We are happy for Anton but more importantly, we are very happy that we continue to do the little things that win basketball games which take an entire team,” comments LSUS Head Coach Chad McDowell.
Porter finished with 25 points and six rebounds while the Scotts held Pilots leading scorer Fredericko Payne to 13 points. Hughes pitched in with six points, four rebounds and four assists while Kyle Blankenship added nine assists and two steals in a game McDowell considers to be an outstanding all-around performance by his Pilots.
“Lyon is a Top 25 team who is well coached and likes to play the possession game. We showed tonight that even though that is not out typical style of play, we can adapt and still be successful. Our guys responded well after playing an overtime game just 18 hours prior to today’s game and worked very hard on both ends of the floor,” said McDowell.
The Pilots improved to 8-0 on the year with Saturday’s victory over LCS and now look forward to returning home to the Dock Monday night to play host to Wesley College before hitting the road again Tuesday when they will travel to Waxahachie, TX to take on the Southwestern Assemblies of God University who they beat 109-80 in their 2005 home opener.
LSUS will then have to prepare for a Top 10 showdown December 2 in Houston, TX as they will square off against the 7th ranked Union University.
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LSUS vs. Lyon College |
LSUS ( 8-0)
Josh Porter 9-24 5-5 25, Freddy Hughes 3-5 0-0 6, Fredericko Payne 4-11 3-4 13, Kyle Blankenship 0-1 0-1 0, Jeremy Johnston 2-7 2-4 6, Derrick Sowell 0-1 0-2 0, Shadrach Roome 0-0 2-4 2, Greg Tyer 1-2 0-0 2, Anton Palmer 12-18 1-2 29. Totals 31-69 13-22 83
Lyon College (4-2)
Keagan Engles 0-1 0-0 0, Trey Salley 1-4 2-2 4, Charles Black 0-0 1-4 1, Preston Butts 1-2 0-0 2, Jonathan Donaldson 15-23 3-4 37, Levi Taylor 1-3 0-0 2, Norris Weintz 6-14 3-4 15, Jason Donaldson 5-14 1-1 11, Brandon Thomas 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 29-62 10-15 72
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SCORE BY PERIODS |
1st |
2nd |
TOTAL |
|
LSUS |
44 |
39 |
83 |
|
Lyon College |
40 |
32 |
72 |
FG%: LSUS .449, Lyon College .468. 3-pt FG:LSUS 8-20 (Porter 2-10, Payne 2-6, Palmer 4-4), Lyon College 4-14 (Salley 0-2, Donaldson 4-9, Weintz 0-3). Rebounds: LSUS 42 (Palmer 10), Lyon College 37 (Donaldson 9). Fouls LSUS 19, Lyon College 18. Fouled out: Black . Technical: none. Assists: LSUS 20 (Blankenship 9), Lyon College 10 (Weintz 6). Steals: LSUS 7 (Hughes 2, Blankenship 2), Lyon College 12 (Salley 4). Blocked shots: LSUS 1 (Porter 1), Lyon College 6 (Taylor 2). Turnovers: LSUS 18, Lyon College 22.
