Seahawks grab Region 14 win
Published 11:14 pm Saturday, December 5, 2015
LSC-PA sports information
Freddie Williams Jr. scored 20 points and led three Seahawks teammates into double figures Saturday afternoon as Lamar State College-Port Arthur held off Tyler Junior College 82-77 in Region 14 basketball play at the Carl Parker Center.
The Seahawks, who blew a 15-point halftime lead in falling in the final minute Wednesday at Kilgore College, saw an 18-point second-half lead cut to two points midway through Saturday’s final period.
But coach Lance Madison’s squad finished strong to improve to 2-2 in South Zone play, 6-4 overall. The Apaches fell to 0-3 in the North Zone, 7-3 overall.
As they did in Kilgore, the Seahawks led by 15 at halftime Saturday.
“I knew they were going to make a run,” Madison said of the Apaches. “In our region, it’s tough. No lead is safe. We just had to withstand their charge.
“I thought we made some big shots when we had to. Guys stepped up and made some plays.”
After Colton Weisbrod’s layup 90 seconds into the second half gave LSC-PA an 18-point, 58-40, lead, TJC outscored the home team 20-4 over the next 9 minutes to get within 62-60 with 9:28 remaining on the sixth three-pointer of the game by Kwinton Hinson, who led all scorers with 31.
The Seahawks then rolled off nine straight points to go back on top by 11, 71-60, with 6:09 remaining.
Williams keyed the charge with a big offensive rebound and put-back.
A three-pointer by Jordan Harris made it 74-62 with 4:58 left and the home team never led by fewer than five the rest of the way.
Harris hit 4 of 7 three-pointers to back up Williams with 18 points. Weisbrod finished with 17 and Mambia Diawara had 14 points. Christian Albright led the Seahawks with eight rebounds.
Hinton, a 6-4 freshman, was 6 of 8 from three-point land and 12 for 20 in all. Williams hit 6 of 12 from the floor, 2 of 4 from three-point range.
“I thought we played a pretty good ballgame,” Madison said. “Tyler is a good team.”
The Seahawks rushed out to an 11-point, 19-8, lead in the game’s first 5 minutes, with Weisbrod scoring four quick buckets. The sophomore from Nederland finished the first half with 14 points, most by any LSC-PA player.
Despite Hinson’s 21 first-half points for TJC, buckets by Harris twice gave the Seahawks 15-point leads in the final 1:13 of the half. His bucket-and-one pushed the lead to 51-35 with 1:13 in the opening period.
Diawara’s rebound and court-length pass set up Harris for a layup at the buzzer that sent the Seahawks in leading 53-38 at halftime.