Box Score ALEXANDRIA, La. – The No. 12 Louisiana State University of Alexandria men's basketball team won its home opener, 89-77, over Loyola University (La.).
"It was a hard fought game," LSUA Assistant Coach Dwayne Harmason said. "We knew it was going to be a tough battle, they gave us a really good game at their place last year. We gave our guys the game plan and they just ahd to stick to it. They did a good job handling adversity. At the end we grinded it out together."
The Generals (2-0) converted 37 of their 46 free throws on the way to the win.
Kashie Natt was a perfect 10-for-10 at the line, he finished with 16 points. Natt also led LSUA with 10 rebounds for his second double-double in as many games.
Jakemin Abney recorded 15 points and went 4-for-5 from the field. He was 7-for-9 in free throws.
EJ McQuillan tallied 14 points and was 6-for-6 in free throws.
Jordan Decuir totaled 13 points. LSUA's bench recorded 41 points.
Natt went to the line for the game's first points, knocking down both shots. LSUA went on an 11-3 run in the first three minutes. The Wolf Pack pulled the game even, 11-11, with 14:37 left in the first half.
Brayden Thompson converted in the paint on the Generals' next possession to put LSUA ahead again, 13-11.
The Generals extended their lead to 15, 35-20, with just under seven and a half minutes to play in the opening period. LSUA's largest lead of the game came with 2:44 remaining in the half, the Generals pushed their edge to 19, 50-31. LSUA went into the locker room at half time leading 52-40.
Loyola (La.) cut the Generals lead down to single digits in the second half twice, but each time LSUA brought the advantage back above 10. A jumper from Natt with 10:20 to play gave the Generals a 66-56 lead. The margin stayed in double digits for the remainder of the contest.
LSUA takes on NCAA DI Louisiana Tech in an exhibition in Ruston, Louisiana on Monday, November 4. They then travel to Freed-Hardeman on Saturday, November 9, for a regular season matchup.
