Louisiana College rallies again but falls short at Mary Hardin-Baylor

BELTON, Texas – For a second straight game, the Louisiana College men’s basketball team found itself trailing by 10 in the second half and once again rallied to take the lead late. This time it was the opposing team that had the shots fall late.

The Wildcats dropped a tight affair Thursday night at the Mayborn Campus Center to the Mary Hardin-Baylor Crusaders, 74-71.

Louisiana College got off to a fast enough start as the Wildcats won the opening tip and it got right to the hands of Kae’ron Baker, who drained the corner three ball to continue his momentum from the previous week. That just kicked off a solid beginning for LC that saw the Wildcats roar out to a 17-7 lead as Malik Cooper scored with less than 14 minutes remaining in the opening period.

That’s when things started to slow for the Wildcats as the Crusaders cut into the lead before LC responded with a bit of a push to expand the lead back out to 23-15 as Galen Smith, Jr. put back a missed shot with just over nine minutes left in the first half. But that’s the point where the game turned in UMHB’s favor as the Crusaders went on a 20-6 run to give UMHB a six-point lead at 35-29 with two minutes left before the break. The Crusaders led 37-33 at halftime.

Much like the first half, the opening minutes of the second half belonged to the Wildcats as LC scored seven of the first nine points in the period to reclaim the lead when Ferontay Banks hit a three-pointer to make it 40-39 LC.

However, this time UMHB had a big response, going on a 15-4 run to take their largest lead of the game at 54-44 with less than 14 minutes left in the contest. But LC was undeterred, going on a 14-3 run immediately right after to make it a game again as Bailey Hardy nailed a three of his own with 7:30 remaining to cut the Crusader lead to just a single point at 58-57.

The Crusaders pushed their advantage back up to six points twice over the next few minutes, the last time coming at 67-61 with 3:30 to go. Then, a 7-0 Louisiana College run gave the lead back to the Wildcats for the final time. Bailey Hardy & Kae’ron Baker each hit a pair of free throws, which was followed by a Ferontay Banks steal and transition lay-up. Malik Cooper split a pair of free throws for the 68-67 Wildcat lead with just more than 1:30 left in the game. But a Crusader three on the ensuing possession proved fortuitous as the Wildcats couldn’t get the ball to fall on the other end and UMHB put the game away at the free throw line.

Four Wildcats scored in double figures, led by Kae’ron Baker who finished with 19 points, four rebounds, two steals, a blocked shot, and an assist. Galen Smith, Jr. ended the game with 17 points, a team high six rebounds, two assists, a block, and a steal. Ferontay Banks had an efficient night, going six of nine and two of four from deep to finish with 14 points, along with a team-high five assists, four rebounds, and two steals. Malik Cooper rounded out the leading scorers with ten points, five rebounds, and two assists.

LC actually had a better night shooting than the Crusaders (4-3, 1-0 ASC) as the Wildcats hit on 45.9% of their shots, compared to 42.6% for UMHB. What hurt LC was the free throw line, where UMHB went 22 of 24 while LC was just ten of 16 at the charity stripe.

The Wildcats (2-1. 2-1 ASC) look to get back on the winning path to close out the first road trip of the season on Saturday afternoon against Concordia. Tip-off against the Tornados (1-0, 0-0 ASC) is set for 2:00 P.M. at the Concordia Fieldhouse in Austin, Texas.