Freshman duo paces LSUA to win over Southwest

“Neither Jakemin or Rodney has lost when they have played,” LSUA Men’s Basketball Coach Larry Cordaro said. “Whether Rodney starts or comes off the bench, he has been extremely hot recently.”

“We have to continue to fine tune some things and get better defensively. But I like the direction we’re headed. We just have to keep our head down and keep working.”

Munson scored 28 in the game, including 22 in the second half. The redshirt freshman from New Orleans scored 15 points in an seven minute span midway through the second half to expand the advantage to 25. Abney scored 16 of his 26 in the first half to give LSUA a 15-point halftime.

“I felt good tonight,” Abney said. “I was confident in the shots I was getting, and my coaches and teammates were putting me in a position to be successful.

The Generals were hot from the field, shooting at least 60 percent from the field in both halves, shooting 61.4 percent for the game. The 111 points is tied for the second most points this season, along with the win against Southeastern Baptist on Jan. 10, only trailing the 115 they scored against UNT-Dallas on Dec. 2.

LSUA (12-2 overall, 2-0 RRAC) adds another game to its winning streak and has not lost in nearly three months. It is the fifth consecutive season in which the Generals won the first two games of the conference season.

The matchup was the second of four between the two schools this season, with the first two counting as the conference contests. They will meet again Feb. 4 and 6.

The Mustangs (0-9, 0-7) kept it close for much of the first half, but LSUA pulled away late in the half. In the last 6:10 of the period, LSUA outscored USW 19-4 to go into the locker room with a 49-34 advantage.

Seven different Generals scored those 19 points, led by junior Jevon Berry, who scored six of his 15 in that stretch.

LSUA was in control the entire second half, and the lead never fell below 15. A 3-pointer by Munson made a triple to make it 66-45 lead. The lead would be above 20 the rest of the game. Munson’s triple began an 11-2 run to blow the game open, improving the advantage to a game-high 29.

Joe Lewis, a junior from Grenada, Miss., had a near double-double with 18 points and nine rebounds. The 18 points are the most since he scored 19 in the season opening victory over Dallas Christian.

Jaewon Williams finished with nine rebounds, tying Lewis for the game high.

Thurbil Bile, who scored 28 the previous matchup this past Monday, was held to 12 points on 5-of-11 shooting. Nathaniel White, Jr., scored a team-high 14 for the Mustangs. Overall, five players finished in double figures for USW.