PINEVILLE, LA – The No. 14 Louisiana State University of Alexandria men's basketball team opened Red River Athletic Conference play with a 75-61 win over Red River Rival Louisiana Christian University.
 
Jordan Decuir recorded a team-high 19 points. TJ James (13) and Norman Beckford (12) also finished with double digit points. Decuir added four assists, one block, and three steals to the ledger as well. James led LSUA with nine rebounds. Beckford notched a team-high three blocks. EJ McQuillan dished out five assists.
 
"I think we came into the game with the wrong mindset as a team," LSUA Head Coach Dimario Jackson said. "It's conference and this is a rivalry game, so records go out the window. People are going to give us their best bunch. It was a good job from our guys to take the challenges from the coaches at halftime and being able to respond in the second half."
 
The Generals (4-3, 1-0 RRAC) tallied 15 assists, 41 rebounds, five blocks, and nine steals as a team. They scored 19 points off turnovers and 34 points in the paint. LSUA's bench recorded 31 points.
 
Louisiana Christian (1-6, 0-1 RRAC) was led by Bryce Weinmunson (19) and Chad Jones (17) in scoring. Drew Tebbe also recorded 10 points. The Wildcats shot just 34 percent from the floor and had a minus-11 rebound margin.
 
LSUA had a slow start to the contest. The Generals shot just 29.63 percent in the first half and found themselves down by 11 with 96 seconds left in the opening period. LSUA trailed for nearly 13 minutes in the first. They scored the half's final five points to head into the locker room trailing by six, 29-23.
 
The Generals stormed out of the gate in the second half, going on a 10-4 run in the first two-and-a-half minutes to tie the game at 33-33. An emphatic dunk from Decuir with 16:49 left in regulation put the Generals ahead for the game's final lead change.
 
With just over five minutes to play, a layup from James and a three from Decuir pushed the Generals' advantage to double digits for the first time in the game, 63-52.
 
LSUA shot 64.29 percent from the floor in the second half, making 18 shots, and knocked down 14 free throws for the victory. They held LCU to just nine baskets in the game's back half.
 
The Generals travel to Houston, Texas on Thursday, December 4, for their second RRAC game of the season. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 PM.