LSCPA sports information

The San Jacinto College Ravens are ranked No. 2 in the NJCAA Division I national poll.

Lamar State College Port Arthur certainly didn’t seem impressed.

The Seahawks battled back from a double-digit second-half deficit to take a late lead, but couldn’t hold on as foul trouble put LSCPA’s top scorer on the bench and San Jacinto College escaped with a 97-87 win at the Carl Parker Center on Wednesday.

The Seahawks went blow for blow with the Ravens throughout the game with a tenacious defense keeping the Ravens on their heels. And, on the offensive trip down the court, the Hawks relied on big man Petar Radojicic in the paint and a combination of guards to keep the score close.

Radojicic scored 11 points with seven rebounds in the first half and went on to score 18 with 14 boards in the game for the Hawks. It was his play, and that of freshman guard John Comeaux, that helped push LSCPA out of a second-half deficit and back into contention for a win late.

With 10:21 left in the game, the Ravens’ Kabir Mohammed, who finished with 14 points and 12 rebounds, hit a layup to put San Jacinto up by 12, 72-60.

Over the next 4 1/2 minutes, the Seahawks went on a 13-2 run to close the Ravens’ lead to one, 74-73.

The Hawks, who had last held a lead at the 7:25 mark of the first half, finally got up on San Jacinto when Radojicic laid in a basket with 3:38 left in the game for a 77-76 advantage. San Jac responded, going up two 79-77 on a basket and a free throw. That’s when LSCPA’s Cam Frank tied the game again on a bucket with 2:16 left to knot the game at 79-79. San Jacinto came back, going up two, 81-79, on a pair of free throws.

Silsbee graduate Tra Grubbs made his presence known when he drove the lane for a powerful move to the basket, drawing the foul and putting LSCPA back ahead 82-81 with 2:16 remaining in the game.

On the next trip down the floor, Radojicic drew his fifth foul of the game, putting him on the bench and allowing San Jacinto’s big men near free reign of the paint for the final 2 minutes.

Comeaux scored the final five points for the Seahawks, all coming from the free throw line, but it wasn’t enough to hold off the Ravens, who stayed undefeated at 22-0 for the season and 11-0 in Region 14 play. The Seahawks fell to 12-9 and 3-9.

Frank finished with 12 points and Madit Daniel added 11 for the Seahawks.

The Seahawks return to conference play on Saturday when they travel to Beeville for a game against Coastal Bend College. That game tips off at 4 p.m.