JOURNAL STAFF
Both LSUS basketball teams reached Sunday’s championship games in the Red River Athletic Conference Tournament at Rapides Coliseum in Alexandria, but neither cut down the nets in a postgame celebration.
But there’s postseason life for each squad, in next month’s NAIA tournaments. Meanwhile, the Centenary men are finished after falling in the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference semifinals, ending an 18-9 season.
The Pilots struggled offensively for much of the RRAC Tournament. They barely made it out of the quarterfinals and semifinals. LSUS shot 34 percent overall and 59 percent on free throws while escaping Jarvis Christian 57-56 on Friday, then needed a controversial foul call at the buzzer and three do-or-die free throws from Jordan DeCuir to get to overtime Saturday in a 96-92 victory over Louisiana Christian.
Sunday in the final against Xavier, the Pilots faltered down the stretch, getting outscored 25-11 to finish the game after the Gold Rush took the lead for good, 54-52.
The Lady Pilots rode third-quarter surges to triumph in the first two rounds, topping Hutson-Tillotson 74-65 and Louisiana Christian 62-46. But top-seeded Texas A&M-Texarkana left no room for a rally, leading 47-15 at halftime in an 81-46 championship game win.
In the Pilots’ thrilling semifinal shootout win, Tyler Washington scored 33 points and snagged 12 rebounds while DeCuir and Jalen Brooks both scored 16. Brooks grabbed 22 rebounds.
LSUS overcame a 10-point deficit down the stretch in regulation. Down 90-87 with 3.5 seconds left, LCU missed two free throws, either of which would have essentially clinched the upset. The Pilots, out of timeouts, hurried the ball upcourt and DeCuir got off a 3-pointer at the buzzer that didn’t draw iron. Footage from KALB-TV seemed to show no contact by the defender, but an official from across the court whistled a foul. DeCuir didn’t flinch given the opportunity to tie the game and force OT with his three made free throws.
In the championship game, Xavier outscored LSUS 49-29 in the second half, as the Pilots made only eight of 25 shots compared to 17 of 27 aim by the Gold Rush. Brooks contributed 19 points and 11 rebounds for LSUS.
The Lady Pilots came out of the halftime locker room very well in their first two games. Against Hutson-Tillotson, they posted a 26-16 margin in the third quarter in a nine-point win, and in the semifinal, it was a 26-9 advantage in the third period in the 16-point victory.
The LSUS women outshot Hutson-Tillotson 50-32 percent as Alexis Brown scored 16. She and Chelsey White scored a dozen against LCU while Derrica Gilbert led with 13 points.
For Centenary, Seth Thomas made the SCAC All-Tournament team, the only player who didn’t reach the championship round to earn that distinction. He had 17 points in the semifinal loss to Trinity. Fifth-seeded Schreiner was the surprise winner after beating No. 1 St. Thomas in the semifinals and topping No. 2 Trinity in the championship game Sunday.