Men's Basketball Loses to LCU After Second-Half Woes

PINEVILLE, LA. (Jan. 20, 2024) – The Our Lady of the Lake University (OLLU) men's basketball team fell to Louisiana Christian University (LCU) 76-65 on Saturday afternoon. The Saints drop to 7-10 overall and 4-7 in the Red River Athletic Conference (RRAC). The Wildcats jump to 4-12 overall and 2-8 in conference.

Head Coach Chris Dial commented, "We are going in the wrong direction, quickly. Louisiana Christian University is a well-coached team and played hard. Our team is doing soul searching and it showed in our discontinuity. I'm looking forward to getting the team back in the gym and getting to work. The next game is the most important matchup."

History

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

Basics

The first half was a low-scoring affair with both teams scoring 29 points. The Saints limited the Wildcats to two free throws and Lonzo Rand totaled eight points. Rob Gil grabbed six rebounds and had three assists. The Saints also hit 75 percent of their free throws but struggled from the three-point line at 16.7 percent.

The Wildcats started to gain momentum early in the second half. They rallied to lead by as many as 18 points and never looked back. The Saints were solid from the free-throw line again hitting 9-of-10 but turned the ball over 13 times. The Wildcats capitalized on 18 second chance points and 48 points in the paint. Four Saints players finished with double-digit points.

Offensive/defensive standouts

Paul Minjoth led the Saints with 17 points. Gil grabbed eight rebounds for OLLU. Gil also tallied eight assists.

Jude Akabueze led LCU with 26 points. He also grabbed 13 rebounds to earn a double-double. D'Marcus Fugett led the team with five assists.

Inside the box

OLLU combined for 22-of-58 shooting for 37.9 percent, 6-of-17 from three-point range for 35.3 percent and 15-of-18 from the free-throw line for 83.3 percent. LCU shot 32-of-67 for 47.8 percent, 6-of-19 three pointers for 31.6 percent and 6-of-10 from the free-throw line for 60 percent.

The Saints grabbed 31 rebounds while LCU collected 45. The Saints forced 22 turnovers and committed 21.  

Up next

The Saints face Jarvis Christian University at home on Jan. 25 at 7:30 p.m.