Eagles finish strong to drop OLLU, advance to RRAC semifinals

ALEXANDRIA, Louisiana — Scoring runs at the end of each half allowed A&M-Texarkana to not only take its first lead of Friday's game just before halftime but close out Our Lady of the Lake in the second half of the Red River Athletic Conference quarterfinals at Rapides Coliseum.

The second seed Eagles (22-7) scored 12 of the game's final 15 points and overcame an off shooting performance to send the seventh-seed Saints (13-16) packing and secure a semifinal berth with a 77-68 win.

Kobe Powell scored 12 of his team-high 16 points at the free throw line while also grabbing a game-high 15 rebounds, and Connor "Iron Eagle" Ouellette added 15 points and seven boards. With big man Tray Spencer battling foul trouble and just 2-of-13 shooting, Chris Coley stepped up off the bench to score 13 points and grab four rebounds. Miles Black added nine for the Eagles, who returned to the win column after ending the regular season with consecutive losses.

TAMUT will face off with third seed Xavier (20-8) in tomorrow's semifinal round. The Gold Rush crushed Southwest in Friday's opening round, 94-59. They also beat the Eagles in their most recent meeting, a 67-60 Xavier win on Feb. 16 in New Orleans.

Jathen Ross scored 30 points for Xavier in their quarterfinal win, Xavier Reeves had 15 and three others scored at least eight. The Gold Rush hit 51 percent from the floor (35-of-68) including 64 percent from long range (9-of-14).

In the Feb. 16 meeting between Xavier and the Eagles, Spencer poured in 28 points with nine rebounds, while Powell added 19 points, eight rebounds and four steals. The Eagles, however, were plagued by poor shooting, hitting just 32 percent from the floor (20-of-62) and 13 percent from long range (2-of-15).