JOURNAL SPORTS

For 22 straight years, LSU Shreveport’s basketball program has been part of the NAIA National Championship tournament subregional competition, but tonight is a first-ever experience for the Pilots.

It’s at home. LSUS hosts Tougaloo College in the Shreveport Bracket at The Dock.

Tipoff between the No. 2 seed Pilots and No. 15 seed Bulldogs is 7 p.m. The winner will advance to the subregional championship game Saturday at 5 p.m. with a berth in the NAIA’s Sweet 16 next week in Kansas City at stake.

LSUS enters the national tournament with a 26-5 record. The Pilots captured both the regular season and tournament titles in the Red River Athletic Conference. This is the first-ever home NAIA playoff game for the LSUS basketball program.

The Pilots have been one of the most productive offenses in the NAIA this season, averaging 91.2 points.

LSUS’s star is Hayden Brittingham, who averages 17.7 points and 8.8 rebounds per game and was named the RRAC Player of the Year, RRAC Defensive Player of the Year, and first team All-RRAC. Alexzaye Johnson, who leads the team with 5.2 assists per game, also earned first team All-RRAC honors.

Tougaloo (19-9) won the HBCU Athletic Conference Western Division title. The Bulldogs narrowly missed out on the conference tournament crown, falling to Southern-New Orleans, 84-81, in the HBCUAC finals.

The Bulldogs average 77.5 points per game. Tougaloo is paced by Antonio Patterson, who leads the team with 20.3 points per game.

The winner will face either No. 7 seed Morningside or No. 10 seed Texas Wesleyan, who play at 5 p.m. today at The Dock.