The LSU Eunice men’s basketball team pulled away in the second half Wednesday night for a hard-fought 67-51 conference win over Baton Rouge Community College.
The Bengals (4-0, 2-0 LCCAC) found themselves involved in a tight game in the first half as BRCC utilized its size to keep the game close.
“BRCC is huge and played us really tough,” LSUE third-year coach Byron Starks said. “Road games are always an adjustment early on, but once again our guys settled in and we maintained out composure for the duration of the game.”
LSUE held a 29-24 lead at halftime but came out strong in the second half. Even though the Bengals held only a five-point lead, Starks was confident that his team would succeed if they remain focused.
“At halftime, I simply told our team to stay the course,” Starks said. “We knew if we executed our game plan that we would be successful.”
LSUE came out strong in the second half and built up a lead as much as 18 points in the final 20 minutes. The Bengals crashed the boards effectively and took away second-change point opportunities giving up only four such points in the second half.
“The turning point in the second half was our energy and rebounding efforts,” Starks said. “We wanted to limit them to one shot.
“Our defensive intensity picked up and the guys hands and feet were more active,” Starks added. “We also got their best player in foul trouble.”
The Bengals were led offensively by the backcourt duo of Jonathan Cisse and former Pine Prairie star Isaiah Payne. Cisse led all scorers with 21 points while Payne added 18 points.
“Jonathan has been a solid leader and floor general for us,” Starks said. “His ability to score while involving others gives his teammates confidence in him. His second-half play with a couple of tough buckets and key rebounds was huge.”
Starks also had plenty of praise for Payne.
“Isaiah is just a tough player to guard,” Starks said. “With his strength and quickness he was able to generate good offense when he recognized a couple of mismatches in the second half.”
LSUE Women
The LSU Eunice women’s basketball team picked up its 30th consecutive win in Louisiana Community Colleges Athletic Conference play on Wednesday.
LSUE (7-2, 2-0 LCCAC) used a late push to defeat Baton Rouge CC, 73-57, which also extended its win streak over the BRCC to 10 games.
The Bengals held only a four-point lead after the first quarter. LSUE opened a double-digit lead after Alona Washington started scoring in the second half. Washington scored 17 of her game-high 22 points in the final two quarters, including draining four three-pointers.
The Lady Bengals made 12 three-pointers in the victory.
In addition to Washington, LSUE had five other players score at least eight points with Kendall Miller (10), Brooklyn Fontenot (9), Jackie Sims (8), Trastasia Hester (8) and Chelsey White (8).