Men's Basketball Shocks LSU-Shreveport 90-86

SHREVEPORT, LA. (Feb. 1, 2024) – The Our Lady of the Lake University (OLLU) men's basketball team used strong offense to defeat the NAIA's No. 15-ranked LSU-Shreveport (LSUS) 90-86 on Thursday. The Saints jump to 9-11 overall and 6-8 in the Red River Athletic Conference (RRAC). The Pilots fall to 15-5 overall and 10-4 in the RRAC.

Head Coach Chris Dial said, "This was a really solid effort tonight. The team came together and showed what resilience looks like. I thought they adjusted at halftime and did a great job moving the ball around in the second half. Trey Law is giving us everything he's got but is running on minimal cylinders. The guys did a good job supplementing his energy. I'm proud of our team."

History

The Saints were 11-15 against the Pilots prior to the matchup. They fell to the Pilots in their first matchup of the season in December 99-108 at home.

Basics

The Saints struggled in the first half shooting 29.7 percent from the field and 10 percent from three-point range. The Pilots shot 42.9 percent from the field but only 4-of-17 from the three-point line. Despite the Saints struggling, they only trailed by five points at the half. The Saints outrebounded the Pilots in the first frame and Daniel Helterhoff had 14 points.

OLLU made key halftime adjustments to guide them to the victory. The offense exploded for 57 points backed by 71.4 percent shooting from the field. They also hit 8-of-9 three-pointers and grabbed 14 rebounds. The Saints led by three points with 1:51 remaining. Lonzo Rand hit a key three-point shot to give the Saints an eight-point advantage and OLLU held on to win by four. Five Saints players finished with double-digit scoring.

Offensive/defensive standouts

Helterhoff led the Saints with 20 points. Breion Powell grabbed eight rebounds for OLLU. Gil tallied six assists.

Tyler Washington led LSUS with 22 points. Washington also grabbed 14 rebounds for a double-double. Damon Davis led the team with seven assists.

Inside the box

OLLU combined for 31-of-65 shooting for 47.7 percent, 9-of-19 from three-point range for 47.4 percent and 19-of-24 from the free-throw line for 79.2 percent. LSUS shot 33-of-69 for 47.8 percent, 9-of-28 three pointers for 32.1 percent and 11-of-18 from the free-throw line for 61.1 percent.

The Saints grabbed 42 rebounds while LSUS collected 36. The Saints forced 10 turnovers and committed 12.  

Up next

The Saints play at Texas A&M University-Texarkana on Feb. 3 at 4 p.m.