The more Nathan Bailey was feeling his shot, the more he shimmied down the court.

That’s a sign the redshirt sophomore was headed for a season high in points.

Bailey scored 29 points and added five rebounds and three turnovers in leading Lamar State College Port Arthur to an 87-81 win over Lee College on Wednesday in the latest edition of their Interstate 10-to-Texas 73 rivalry.

“Just to come out and play my game, execute the way we play and play Seahawk basketball,” said Bailey, who made 5 of 14 three-point attempts and 8 of 10 free throws.

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Lamar State (16-9, 6-6 in Region XIV) has won three of its last four but more importantly ended a three-game losing streak in the South Zone. The Seahawks had not earned a league victory since beating Lee on Jan. 16 in Baytown, 72-71.

“When he gets hot, he’s a good scorer,” Seahawks coach Lance Madison said. “He’s one of the better scorers in our league when he’s hot.”

Devaughn Thomas finished with 18 points and seven rebounds, and Colin Just scored 12 points and pulled down four rebounds (three offensive) for the Seahawks.

Lamar State has found a groove on the court following a period of adversity off the court.

Madison’s mother Doris passed away before the team beat Lone Star College-Cy Fair on Jan. 29. Three days later, the team was involved in a traffic accident near Wharton on its way to a game at Coastal Bend College, although no one was seriously injured. That game has been postponed until Feb. 20.

“Our minds were a little bit fragile at times, but we got some good sophomore leadership in Devin Ellis and Tevin Baker and Alex Williams and Nathan Bailey and Colin Just,” Madison said. “They showed some leadership in practice. Even in the locker room, they showed leadership.”

The Seahawks shot 26 for 61 (42.6 percent) from the floor, including 9 for 24 (37.5) from three-point range. They sank 26 of 34 free throws (76.5).

Raquan Wilkins and Sebit Reath each scored 19 for Lee (12-13, 4-9), which shot 27 for 64 (42.2 percent), including 14 of 30 from three-point range (46.7), and made 13 of 16 free throws (81.3). Reath also had 11 rebounds.

Ezoha Santiago scored 12 points and Jason Draggs had 11 in the loss.

Lamar State led 35-34 at halftime.

I.C. Murrell: 721-2435. Twitter: @ICMurrellPANews