NAIA
[Men's Basketball] PILOTS BRING HOME BACK-TO-BACK RRAC TOURNAMENT TITLES
The top-seed LSUS Men's Basketball team finished off the RRAC Tournament with a thrilling 67-64 win over the TAMU-Texarkana Eagles. In one of the toughest games of the season, the Pilots rode their defense and tournament MVP Akeem White to victory. The Pilots doubled-down on their regular season championship for a clean sweep of the RRAC. The Pilots defeated TAMUT to win the RRAC Tournament last season, as well. The Pilots will now wait for their NAIA National Tournament seeding on March 4th. FIRST HALF The Pilots had to withstand the best punches from any opponent this season as the Eagles of Texarkana came ready to play. Texarkana opened up a 31-20 lead over the Pilots before Shreveport went on a 13-0 run to close the half and claim a two-point lead going into the break. Akeem White was huge for the Pilots in the first half as he led all scorers with 12 points. Jeff Boyd was the Pilots piece that helped settle them down and get their 13-0 run started. Jeff finished the first half with seven points including a big three and a jumper that fell with the shot clock expiring on a good defensive possession by the Eagles. Boyd's three was the only three of the first half for LSUS as they went just 1-11 from three but finished the half at 44% from the field. Texarkana shot 41% for comparison.SECOND HALF The game remained tight all the way through but the Pilots never relinquished their lead coming out of halftime. Akeem White, the RRAC Tournament MVP, continued to pick up big offensive rebounds and buckets around the rim. Jeff Boyd and Trey Johnson took turns locking down the Eagles top player as Shreveport held their lead. The Pilots defense was nails down the stretch keeping Texarkana out of any real rhythm. Leondre Washginton and Kadavion Evans stepped up late game to knock down some big shots to help seal the 67-64 win for LSUS. RRAC TOURNAMENT MVP – AKEEM WHITEAkeem was BIG for the Pilots in many ways during the tournament. His size was too much for TAMUT to deal with as he poured in a game-high 23 points. Pair that with his eight rebounds and two blocks and you get a championship game MVP performance from White. He was good for 15 points and nine rebounds in the Pilots semifinal win over Jarvis Christian. RRAC ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAMAkeem White, Jeff Boyd and Leondre Washington were all selected to the RRAC All-Tournament Team for their performance in Alexandria.