The Port Arthur News
LUFKIN —
In a message to the rest of the league as the Region 14 tournament nears, the Lamar State College-Port Arthur Seahawks manhandled Angelina College 85-59 to move to 13-4 in conference play.
The Seahawks remain tied for first place in the Region 14 South Zone, knotted at the top with Blinn College and San Jacinto College with two games left to play in the regular season.
The Seahawks opened Saturday's game with a clear message: We're here to win. With strength on the boards and quick transition on offense, the Hawks went up by 25 and 30 points late in the first half.
While Lamar State has not often had difficulty building big leads this season, it has had its problems holding on to those advantages.
Not so this Saturday in Lufkin.
The Hawks peppered the basket with long-range shots as the Angelina College defense collapsed into the paint. When the Roadrunner defense spread out to protect against the likes of three-point shooting Darrian Provost and Lakeem Duncan, the Seahawks started feeding inside to Elijah Pittman, Shondel Stewart, and Brandon Peters.
Pittman led the Seahawks with 23 points, while Stewart added 17. Peters had 13 with Duncan and Provost each scored 12 points. Mike Myers led Angelina with 23.
The final game of the regular season will be next Saturday, when LSC-PA travels to Tyler, a team sitting in the middle of the pack in the North Zone at 10-7.
Not only is a regular-season championship at stake for the Seahawks as they enter their final two games of the year, so is a bid for a first-round bye in the regional tournament.
The tournament in Tyler tips off on Wednesday, March 7. A first-round bye would be a real plus for the Seahawks as they continue to recover from nagging injuries. A bye means the Hawks would not have to play until Saturday, March 10.
