Lamar State sports information

JACKSONVILLE — Lamar State College Port Arthur headed to Jacksonville to take on the NJCAA Region XIV South Zone opponent Jaguars on Saturday afternoon. They wound up battling the game officials as well.

The Seahawks fell 79-74 in a game that saw Jaguars shoot 44 free throws, 32 in the second half alone. By comparison, the Seahawks shot just 18 from the line in the entire contest.

Devin Ellis, who scored 11 for the Seahawks, hit 7 of 10 from the free throw line.

With the loss, LSCPA falls to 2-11 in conference play, 8-15 overall, while Jacksonville improves to 6-7 and 16-8.

With too many close losses already this season, the Seahawks came into Jacksonville with a thirst for victory, jumping out quickly for a 6-0 lead to start the game. Jacksonville finally got on the board more than three minutes into the contest, on a pair of free throws. Rodney Brown orchestrated that early-game push for the Hawks and finished the game with 16 points and six rebounds.

A basket and three free throws put Jacksonville up 18-13 with 9:16 remaining. LSCPA’s Stefan Radosavljevic put together back-to-back baskets and a free throw to tie the game again at 18-18 with 7:40 left to the halftime break.

A three-pointer by Jacksonville on its next possession gave the Jags a lead they would hold until Alex Williams put the Seahawks back on top 33-32 with a bucket at the 30-second mark. LSCPA would take that advantage into the locker room.

Tra Grubbs came out to start the second half with a bucket for a 35-32 Seahawks lead but the Jaguars would respond, hitting back-to-back buckets to regain the lead at 37-35. The two teams would battle back and forth, tying the game twice again, the last time at 44-44 with 11:21 left in the game.

From there, Jacksonville hit four straight free throws and a basket to get out front by six points. Brown stopped the Seahawks’ bleeding with a bucket and a free throw but Jacksonville managed to put together another run that would give them a double-figure lead, 65-54, with 4:03 left.

Williams finished with a team-best 17 points, while Jase Miguez had 12 points, all coming from beyond the three-point line.

The Seahawks come home for three straight conference games at the Carl Parker Center. LSCPA faces Angelina College on Wednesday at 7 p.m., then Lee College at 4 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 17. The Hawks then play Jacksonville again on Monday, Feb. 19.