Generals claim conference championship with win in regular season finale
ALEXANDRIA — The LSUA men’s basketball team needs to make space in the trophy case for another Red River Athletic Conference accolade after Saturday’s 87-77 win over Southwest on senior night to close regular season play.
| W-L | Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| (16-12, 11-7 RRAC) | Southwest Mustangs | 31 | 46 | 77 |
| (25-5, 17-1 RRAC) | (11) LSUA Generals | 32 | 55 | 87 |
How it Happened:
- LSUA and Southwest went back and forth the entire first half with the Generals taking a one-point lead (32-31) into the break.
- Southwest went on an 8-0 run late in the half to turn a 30-23 deficit into a 31-30 advantage. Senior Montrey Thomas scored the last points of the half with 1:42 remaining to make the halftime score 32-32.
- In the second half, both teams connected from the field at a higher clip and the Mustangs kept the Generals lead under double digits for most of the game.
- LSUA’s lead reached 11 points (68-58) at the 6:05 mark when senior Carlos Coleman sank a pair of free throws and grew to 17 points on a three-point basket by senior JR Adams with 4:27 remaining in the game.
- After LSUA’s lead hovered around the 17-point mark for the next two minutes, Southwest went on a 10-0 run to close the gap to 84-74 with 39 seconds remaining.
- A three-pointer by Montrey Thomas’ stopped the Southwest streak and pushed the LSUA lead back to 13 points before a three-pointer by USW as time wound down created the 87-77 final mark.
Other Notes:
- LSUA shot 25% from behind the arc in the first half and in the second half netted 10 of 19 (52.6%).
- Senior Chris Vickers led the Generals in scoring with 19 points and rebounds with 15.
- Six Generals scored in double figures: Vickers-19, Thomas-15, Coleman-13, junior Brandon Ellis-13, junior Jordan Adebutu-12, senior JR Adams-11.
What’s Being Said:
- “Tonight was another fun season finale in The Fort. It’s always good to get a win on senior day, especially clinching the number one seed for the tournament. This is a game that our seven seniors will remember for a very long time. We have accomplished our goal of winning the conference championship, but we have bigger goals ahead in postseason play. We appreciate all our fans coming our and supporting us this season. I certainly want to mention the great season that Southwest is having and job Coach Hitchcock is doing. They made us earn every bit of what we were able to do tonight, and they will be a tough team in the conference tournament.” – Head Coach Larry Cordaro
Up Next:
- Red River Athletic Conference Tournament | Rapides Parish Coliseum | Friday, March 6
