ALEXANDRIA, LA – The Louisiana State University of Alexandria men's basketball team advanced to the Red River Athletic Conference Basketball Tournament Final with an 81-65 victory over Texas A&M-Texarkana.
"We had some moments where we weren't coachable like we've been," LSUA Head Coach Dimario Jackson said. "We talked about in the locker room, especially at halftime. But shoutout to our guys and the coaching staff for grinding it out. Texarkana has been on a run, they're disciplined, and they play hard. Kudos to our guys for the second half we had, and even some moments in the first, for being greedy and being tough."
A 13-point margin in the second half propelled the Generals (27-2, 22-2 RRAC) over the Eagles (20-10, 16-8 RRAC). LSUA knocked down four shots from beyond the arc, 18 free throws, and shot 48% in the second stanza to pull away from TAMUT.
Kashie Natt tallied 17 second half points, including a 9-for-10 mark at the free throw line. He totaled a team-high 24 points and 17 rebounds.
The first half was a physical battle as both teams sought to swing momentum to their bench, 12 of LSUA's 35 first half points came at the free throw line. The Generals' largest lead of the period came just after the midway point, a nine-point advantage, which the Eagles three heading into halftime.
A game of ebbs and flows, the Generals took up an 11-point lead in the first eight minutes of the second half. The Eagles cut it down to four over the next three minutes. With 3:38 left in regulation, LSUA had pushed its lead to double digits again – 72-58. From then on out, the game's remaining points were scored via free throw.
The Generals face the University of the Southwest (N.M.) in the final, a rematch of last year's RRAC Tournament finale.
The seven-seed Mustangs upended two-seed Xavier (La.) in the quarterfinal before taking down six-seed Louisiana Christian, 75-63, in the semifinal. Jacob Koontz led the Mustangs with 20 points, while Rahkiem Petterson recorded 19. Anthony Scott chipped in 11 and dished out a team-high 11 assists. The Mustangs shot 53.7% from the field as a unit.
Tip-off is scheduled for 2:30 PM at the Laborde Earles Coliseum in Alexandria.
