Pilots win big at the Dock; 120-71 over the Knights
March 02, 2006
Shreveport, LA---If the No. 2 LSUS Pilots were out to prove a point Thursday night to the NAIA and the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference after being dropped from the No. 1 spot this week, they did so with an exclamation point! The Pilots used six double-digit scorers to defeat the Southern University of New Orleans Knights 120-71 in Round One of the GCAC Tournament.
The Knights connected on their first seven field goals of the game to keep pace with the NAIA’s No. 1 ranked offense of the Pilots and tied the score at 21-21 with 10:21 remaining in the half. Sherrard Rogers single handedly led the Knights offensive charge early with 10 early points.
LSUS however continued to sub in and out, pushing the tempo and rattled off a 37-17 run to end the half and had built a comfortable 58-38 lead into the locker room.
Pilot shooting guard and GCAC Newcomer of the Year, Josh Porter, exploded for 19 first half points after shooting 8-of-10 from the floor, including 3-of-4 from beyond the arc.
The Pilots began the second half on a 9-0 run and stretched their lead to 67-38, and let the flood gates open from there. The Pilots went on to outscore the Knights 62-33 in the second half with a balanced scoring attack. Ten LSUS players played 14 or more minutes, six of which finished with double-digit scoring figures. Porter finished with a game high 24 points and five steals while teammate and 2006 GCAC Player of the Year, Fredericko Payne, added 16 points and four steals. Pilots senior forward Derrick Sowell finished 6-of-7 from the floor and finished with a season high 18 points and six rebounds.
Shadrach Roome and Jeremy Johnston treated the capacity crowd at The Dock to a slam-dunk fest in the second half and combined for 29 points and 13 rebounds, and eight blocked shots. Freddy Hughes rounded off the Pilots scoring attack with 12 points while teammate Greg Tyer pitched in with eight points and five rebounds. Kyle Blankenship added a game high eight assists and collected four steals.
LSUS finished shooting 61% (44-of-72) from the floor and won the turnover battle by a 13-29 margin.
The Pilots will now look forward to Saturday night as they will play host to the William Carey College Crusaders who upset the Belhaven College Blazers in overtime in their Round One game. The Pilots defeated the Crusaders 101-81 in their last game of the regular season. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00pm.
