The Lamar State College-Port Arthur Seahawks rode out an early lead with clutch free throws down the stretch to hold off Lon Morris College, 67-65, on Saturday night at the Parker Center.

   With the victory, LSC-PA moves to 8-0 on the season and begins Region XIV conference play with a "statement win," as head coach Matt Cross put it.

  Lamar State shot 12-of-14 at the charity stripe for the game and made good on five of those tries in the final 59 seconds of the contest.

   The biggest of those free throws came from Leviante Davis, who sunk two foul shots that put his team up for good with the score at 66-65.

  The Seahawks forced Alonzo Edwards into a travel. On the next possession, Lamar State's Von Jones was sent to the line made one of his two shots to give his team a 67-65 lead.

   Moments later, LSC-PA's Keenan Doyle forced Jorge Redmon into a terrible shot by knocking the ball loose as the final seconds ticked away. Redmon recovered but could only throw a prayer that landed out of bounds. The Seahawks broke the press on the ensuing in bounds pass and that ended an intense finish.

   "We got a big lead to start the game (18 points), but I knew that wasn't going to hold. They are too good a team and they are coached too well to let us blow them out," said Cross about his team's 22-4 start to open the contest.

   That quick start was made possible by the Seahawks ability to break Lon Morris man-to-man defense. The pace was in Lamar State's favor and it allowed the guards to find forwards Ahyaro Phillips and Davis, who combined for 15 of the opening 22 points. Davis finished the night with 17 points while Phillips, who stayed in foul trouble for the duration, chipped in with 15.

   Also in that 22-4 run, Doyle, a 6-4 guard, buried a trey and followed up with a steal and a coast-to-coast lay up with 13 minutes still remaining in the first half.

   But it was only seconds later that Phillips picked up his second foul. With the lead and the momentum of the game, the 6-8 post went to the bench for the rest of the half.

   His absence was missed a great deal in rebounding and shot blocking, and Lon Morris took full advantage by mounting an 11-0 run that did not come to a close until Silsbee's Nick Walters nailed a 3-pointer with 8:22 to put the game at 25-15. Walters sunk a second trey later in the half that gave his team a nine point lead, at 34-26 with 4:46 to play.

  After another surge from Lon Morris, Doyle turned the momentum with a big dunk and a minute later Davis tipped in a layup at the buzzer to give Lamar State a 41-34 advantage at the half.

  With Phillips back in the lineup after recess, the Seahawks were able to built the lead to 10 and hold their for the opening minutes but with 13:13 remaining, the New Orleans native picked up two more fouls and to the bench he went.

  LSC-PA continued to block the Bearcats best punches, however. It did so with a pair of clutch 3-pointers from Demetrius Ford. The first of those two lifted LSC-PA's lead to 56-52 with 7:32 to play. With 4:28 to go, Ford knocked down another that gave his team a 63-57 advantage. 

  But the Bearcats followed with an 8-1 run that gave them their first lead of the contest at 65-64 with 59 seconds remaining. Lamar State closed out the game with three free throws.

  "We just found a way to win I guess. Maybe we wanted it more. I don't know but I am very proud of our effort and for holding our composure down the stretch," said Cross who was hinting at some questionable officiating. "I'm proud of the guys for hanging on. This was a statement win for this program. This win shows me we are a really good team. Now we have to take the next step so we can become a great team."

   Phillips ended the night with 12 rebounds and 3 blocks. Davis picked up 7 boards and dished out five assists. Doyle grabbed 5 rebounds, made 3 steals, 3 assists and tallied 9 points. Jones had 5 assists and 4 steals.

   Lamar State will be on the road Tuesday for a 7 p.m. game at conference rival San Jacinto College, which currently is ranked just outside the top-20 for junior college teams in the nation.