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Louisiana College men's basketball falls to the University of Texas at Tyler in overtime

The Louisiana College men’s basketball team played with the University of Texas at Tyler Patriots all night, forcing the game into overtime, but the Wildcats did not have enough in the tank to finish the game, falling 93-83 Thursday night.
Four different Louisiana College players scored in double figures, but the effort was not enough to carry the Wildcats to their first conference win of the season.
Throughout the evening, especially in the first half, the Wildcats and Patriots played back-and-forth. The biggest lead of the half was by the Patriots at 39-35 with just more than a minute left in the half. The Wildcats quickly got it down to one on the next possession, thanks to an “and-1” play from Taylan Grogan, a former Patterson High standout. A fast-break layup following a Louisiana College miss gave the Patriots a slim 41-38 lead heading into halftime.
The tight game continued in the second half with five quick Wildcat points — a layup from Devon Washington and a three-ball from Lashard Powell — putting Louisiana College ahead 43-41 just 90 seconds into the half.
The Cats held the lead for the majority of the next nine minutes, including a seven-point advantage during the stretch.
However, a layup at the 9:47 mark of the second half started a 12-3 Patriots run that put them up by seven with just more than six minutes left.
The lead quickly vanished as Powell caught fire from behind the arc. The freshman drilled two long balls following Texas-Tyler turnovers and missed shots on back-to-back trips on the Louisiana College offensive end to put the Wildcats back on top 71-70 with five minutes left. Powell was even more clutch down the stretch of the fourth quarter following the back-to-back three point shots. He made two free throws with 12 seconds left on the clock to tie the game at 79 and thus sending the game into overtime.
The extra effort that the Wildcats expended in the latter part of the fourth hurt them in overtime as the Patriots took advantage early to build a six-point lead after Travis Schultz tied the game again at 81 one minute into the extra frame. Perfect free throw shooting in overtime by UTT prevented the Wildcats from gaining any ground, and the Patriots took the win.
Powell led the team with 23 points, a new career best for the first-year Wildcat. Washington finished with 15 points and seven rebounds, while Schultz made 8-of-10 shots in the game for 19 points. Grogan, a sophomore, scored seven points and added two rebounds, one assist and three steals.
The Wildcats travel to the University of Ozarks in Arkansas Saturday for a date with the Eagles.
Stay connected to Louisiana College men’s basketball by following @LC_MBSK on Twitter. For general athletics news, follow @LC_Wildcats on Twitter or like Louisiana College Wildcats on Facebook.

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