ALEXANDRIA, LA – The Louisiana State University of Alexandria men's basketball team advanced to the NAIA Tournament Second Round with an 83-76 victory over 16-seeded Stillman College.
The game was tied, 69-69, with just 5:02 left in regulation after the Generals (29-2) saw their 14-point lead slowly being chipped away by the Tigers (18-12).
LSUA led 53-39 at the first media timeout of the second half. Over the next 10 minutes, Stillman outscored the Generals 30-16 and tied the game at 69-69. The Tigers then took a 72-69 lead on their next basket.
Back-to-back threes from
Jordan Decuir and
Jason Perry II swung momentum back towards the Generals. They outscored Stillman 11-4 in the final 3:35.
"Great game by Stillman," LSUA Head Coach Dimario Jackson said. "Those guys showed up to play. Down 14 they kept clawing and fighting. Kudos to our guys for being able to win. There's an old saying that good teams find ways to win and that seems be the trend since the conference tournament. Jason made a tough shot; Jordan made a tough shot. Guys made plays when they needed to make plays."
The 10-minute run by Stillman in the second half was a juxtaposition of how the Generals opened the game. LSUA pushed out to a 21-10 lead over the first seven minutes of play. Stillman answered, however, closing the cap to two, 25-23, over the next five minutes.
LSUA closed the first half on a run, continuing it through the first two minutes of the second period to reestablish a double-digit lead, 44-31. Over the 8:38 frame, LSUA outscored Stillman 17-8.
The run opened and closed on points by
Kashie Natt. He led the Generals with 27 points and a 10-for-16 mark from the field. Natt hauled in 13 rebounds, blocked three shots, and picked up two steals. He had a plus-minus of +15 on the night.
EJ McQuillan recorded 21 points and shot 6-for-10 from the field, including 5-for-7 from deep. He contributed half of the Generals' three pointers.
Jakemin Abney came off the bench for 14 points. He knocked four of his six shots.
The Generals take on eight-seeded Nelson University (TX) at 6:00 PM on Saturday, March 15, at The Fort. The Lions advanced to the NAIA Second Round with an 85-74 win over Middle Georgia State University. CJ Hall and Micah Clark led the offense with 20 and 16 points, respectively.
