LSCPA sports information

BRENHAM – Powerful play in the paint and dead-eye shooting from the perimeter put Lamar State College Port Arthur on the winning side of a road trip to Blinn College as the Seahawks rolled to an 89-75 win on Saturday afternoon.

At 3-8 in NJCAA Region 14 play now, the Seahawks have struggled through league play this season. It didn’t show Saturday, though, as they put the Buccaneers on their heels early and kept the pressure up down the stretch.

“I’m seeing team growth and I’m letting them play,” said Seahawks head coach Lance Madison, who called just one timeout over the span of Saturday’s game. “They’ve figured it out on the floor. In the past, I’ve always had players who make plays and we’re finally seeing that this season.”

The freshman-laden Seahawks are headed by Ozen grad John Comeaux, who had 33 points in Saturday’s victory. Behind his strong guard play and working in the paint with sophomore Petar Radojicic, who had 17 points and 16 rebounds, the

Seahawks pushed out to double-figure leads in the second half.

The only time the Buccaneers managed to flirt with a lead was in the first half, when they held an advantage of as few as two points, as the game saw eight lead changes and six ties early.

Coming out of the halftime break, the Seahawks’ Chase Rutledge knocked down a three-pointer to give LSCPA a momentum that would push the lead out as far as 17 points over the final 20 minutes.

“I knew we had this kind of game in us,” Madison said. “It was a good team victory. We hung tough, built the lead and never got rattled. We took care of the basketball, got fouled and converted our free throws. That’s what we’ve been missing and now we’ve found that combination.”

Freshman guard Madit Daniel added 10 points while Silsbee freshman Tra Grubbs scored eight points and grabbed several critical rebounds for the Seahawks in the win.

Markques Houston, a freshman guard, led Blinn with 20 points while teammate LaKendric Hyson added 14.

The Seahawks return home on Wednesday when they take on the country’s No. 4 team, San Jacinto College. The Ravens are undefeated at 20-0 entering their game against the Seahawks. A year ago, LSCPA was the only Region 14 team to defeat the Ravens twice during the home-and-away conference schedule. Wednesday’s game tips off at 7 p.m. at the Carl Parker Center.