ALEXANDRIA, La. – The No. 5 Louisiana State University of Alexandria men's basketball team opened the new year with a 109-75 victory over LSU Shreveport in Red River Athletic Conference play.
 
"We have to better in the first half," LSUA Head Coach Dimario Jackson said. "That's been our last two games, where in the first half, defensively, we have some letdowns, we have a lack of discipline. Kudos to our players for accepting the challenge at halftime and being who we are on the defensive side."
 
Kashie Natt led the Generals (14-1, 11-1 RRAC) with 16 points. Jakemin Abney and EJ McQuillan both recorded 14 points. Jordan Decuir (13), Keyon Giroir (12), Jason Perry II (11), and Brayden Thompson (10) all recorded double-digit points. Natt also led LSUA with six rebounds. He added two assists and one steal to his ledger as well. Abney finished with a team-high five assists and three steals.
 
The Generals recorded 40 points in the paint, 31 points off turnovers, 23 second chance points, and the bench recorded 68 points.
 
LSU Shreveport (9-7, 6-6 RRAC) tallied the game's first bucket, but it was the only lead the Pilots held in the game. A layup from Thompson on the Generals' next possession brough the game even. LSUA went on a 13-2 run over the next three-and-a-half minutes, staking out a 13-4 lead.
 
The Pilots battled back, tying the game at 18-18 on a 14-5 run with just under 12 minutes left in the opening stanza.
 
Over the next eight minutes, LSUA opened up a 46-35 lead, the first double-digit lead of the game for the Generals. A trio of free throws from the Pilots brought it back to single digits briefly, before Decuir added a three-point play to re-establish a 10-point edge. The Generals closed the half leading 51-41.
 
Three minutes into the second half, the Pilots brought the Generals' lead to single digits once more but again LSUA responded. A 14-0 run lifted the advantage to 72-48 with 12:54 left in regulation.
 
LSUA reached a 30-point lead with 4:10 on the clock, 96-66, on the first of three free throws from Natt.
 
Layups from Giroir and Jayce Tolivar gave the Generals their largest lead of the contest, 109-72 with 1:19 left in regulation.
 
All 12 of Giroir's points came in the second half. He shot 5-for-9 from the floor, including a 2-for-4 mark from beyond the arc.
 
The Generals are back in action on Tuesday, January 7, as they host Texas A&M-Texarkana. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 PM in The Fort.