MEN’S BASKETBALL: Seahawks lose focus in road defeat to Runners

Published 10:39 pm Thursday, January 18, 2018

Lamar State sports information

LUFKIN – Coming off its first conference win of the season over Kilgore College this past Saturday, it appeared Lamar State College Port Arthur would finally have some momentum as the Seahawks moved into the NJCAA Region XIV South Zone schedule.

A weather delay and then a lack of focus spelled doom for the Hawks, though, as Angelina College edged out to a 67-59 win on Thursday night at Davis Court.

Subscribe to our free email newsletter

Get the latest news sent to your inbox

“Our focus wasn’t there,” Seahawks coach Lance Madison said. “We didn’t show up mentally and ready to play. They played harder than us and made some tougher plays than we did.”

The game, originally scheduled to be played Wednesday, was moved to Thursday after the region’s icy conditions made travel perilous. From the beginning, it appeared the Seahawks weren’t on point against the Roadrunners.

Although the Hawks tied the game at 2 and 4 early, they would never see a game advantage as Angelina edged out and stayed ahead throughout.

LSCPA, which falls to 7-11 overall and 1-7 in conference, got close near the end of the first half, but Angelina hit a late three-pointer and held a six-point advantage at the break.

The Seahawks cut the Roadrunners’ lead to three points on several occasions early in the second half but could never put together a run to get ahead. Eventually, the Runners edged out to double-digit leads late and held off any LSCPA resurrection down the stretch.

“First of all, we missed too many layups inside and we gave up too many offensive rebounds early in the game,” Madison said. “We had a little bit of success on Saturday (against Kilgore) and tonight we just didn’t have the enthusiasm we had then.”

Devin Ellis led the Seahawks with 14 points, while Matej Gaspert added 10.

LSCPA returns home Saturday to face South Zone foe Jacksonville College in a game set for 4 p.m. at the Carl Parker Center.

About I.C. Murrell

I.C. Murrell was promoted to editor of The News, effective Oct. 14, 2019. He previously served as sports editor since August 2015 and has won or shared eight first-place awards from state newspaper associations and corporations. He was born in Memphis, Tennessee, grew up mostly in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, and graduated from the University of Arkansas at Monticello.

email author More by I.C.