SAN ANTONIO, Texas – The No. 5 Louisiana State University of Alexandria men's basketball team surged in the second half to take down No. 20, Our Lady of the Lake University, 85-71.
"This was a great team win," LSUA Head Coach Dimario Jackson said afterward. "Shoutout to our guys for being able to adjust in the second half. That's our brand of basketball! It's a great win going into the break."
Kashie Natt led the Generals (13-1, 10-1 RRAC) with 28 points and 10 rebounds, netting his ninth double-double of the campaign. He finished 11-for-20 from the field and 6-for-6 at the free throw line. He added three assists and three steals to his ledger as well.
Jordan Decuir (16) and
TJ James (12) also recorded double figures in points. James finished with a shooting percentage of 60.0 and hauled in nine rebounds. The Generals recorded 48 points in the paint, 22 points off turnovers, 21 fast break points, and the bench chipped in 37 points.
The Generals found themselves down 39-38 at halftime, after a
Jakemin Abney three at the buzzer brought LSUA within one. The Purple and Gold battled back from being down 11, 20-9, seven minutes into the game.
A layup and free throw from Natt, followed by a trey from Abney more than halved the deficit to 20-15. After seeing their lead slip to three, 21-18, after a jumper from Natt, the Saints (12-2, 8-2 RRAC) pushed their lead back to seven with 2:58 left in the first, 34-27. The Generals again battled back, sending the game into the halftime break, 39-38, with Abney's late three.
Brayden Thompson scored the first four points of the second half, giving LSUA a 42-39 lead. A pair of free throws from Natt, a three from
EJ McQuillan, and a layup from Natt extended the Generals' lead to 10, 49-39, three-and-a-half minutes in the second half.
The Generals held the Saints off the scoreboard for the first 4:17 of the second.
From there, it was all LSUA. The Generals' lead dipped into single digits just three times over the remainder of the game. The Purple and Gold's largest lead came with just under two minutes to play on a layup from James, 83-65, an 18-point difference.
The Generals shot 45.2 percent from the floor in the second half. Natt scored 19 points, while Decuir added 10, in the final stanza. LSUA had five steals on 13 turnovers from OLLU, who shot just 32.3 percent in the second. The Generals held a rebounding edge of 29-17, including hauling in 13 offensive rebounds.
LSUA opens 2025 on January 4, at home, against LSU Shreveport. Tip-off is scheduled for 3:00 PM in The Fort.
