Saints Drop Conference Matchup Against Texarkana

SAN ANTONIO (Feb. 11, 2023) – The Our Lady of the Lake University (OLLU) men's basketball team were ousted by Texas A&M University-Texarkana (TAMUT) 75-68 on Saturday. The Saints fall to 13-13 overall and 8-10 in the Red River Athletic Conference (RRAC). The Eagles improve to 21-5 overall and 14-4 in RRAC play.

Head Coach Chris Dial said, "The inconsistencies continue to plague this team. We lost the boards and afforded them too many second chances. I thought Ellis Jones played a great game defensively by winning his matchup against one of the best players in our conference. Next week is critical for us as we hope to play better and clinch a tournament berth."

History

The Saints were 1-2 against the Eagles prior to the game.

Basics

The Saints struggled shooting in the first half but were able to get to the free throw line 15 times. The Eagles grabbed six offensive rebounds in the first frame and were led by Kobe Powel with nine points. Ellis Jones had double-digit points for the Saints at the halftime break. Texarkana led by three points behind 41.9 percent shooting from the field.

OLLU led once in the second half but couldn't keep up with the Eagles shooting. Texarkana capitalized on 34 points in the paint throughout the game. They limited the Saints to nine rebounds in the second half and shot 60.9 percent from the field. The Saints will look to secure a spot in the RRAC Tournament with two games remaining in the regular season.

Offensive/defensive standouts

Jones led the Saints with 18 points. Ruben Monzon grabbed seven rebounds. Rob Gil had six assists.

Tray Spencer led TAMUT with 17 points. Spencer also grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds for a double-double. Raschard Greene finished with three assists.

Inside the box

OLLU combined for 22-of-54 shooting for 40.7 percent, 6-of-22 from three-point range for 27.3 percent and 18-of-25 from the free-throw line for 72 percent. TAMUT shot 27-of-54 for 50 percent, 6-of-18 three pointers for 33.3 percent and 15-of-21 from the free-throw line for 71.4 percent.

The Saints grabbed 24 rebounds while the Eagles collected 38.

Up next

The Saints play at Huston-Tillotson University on Feb. 14 at 7:30 p.m.