Summary of Games the Week of Jan. 29-Feb. 4, 2041
Conference J
Loyola (IL) Ramblers—75, Georgia State Panthers (15-3, 6-1)—67 (The Panthers win-streak was broken in what was a very close home contest. The Ramblers held a 41-38 halftime lead. The teams continued to exchange the lead in the 2nd half. Following the 16th lead change, Loyola edged ahead and slowly pulled away in the final 7 minutes of the game with the Panthers have 5 players in foul trouble. SG Clint Strohm—15 pts, 4 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl, 1 blk; PF Aaron Samuels—10 pts, 10 reb; SF David Selby—10 pts.)
Georgia State Panthers (16-3, 7-1)—78, Harvard Crimson—63 (The Panthers took the Crimson apart. At the half it was 46-33 in favor of Georgia State. And the Panthers continued to pull away in the 2nd half. SF David Selby—29 pts; SG Clint Strohm—15 pts, 6 reb, 3 stl; C Jeremy Young—10 pts, 8 reb; PG Elton Sheals—9 pts, 11 ast.)
Conference N
Southeast Louisiana Lions (14-4, 6-1)—62, Mercer Bears—41 (The lead flip-flopped 6 times during the initial 11 minutes but the Lions then edged ahead to lead 27-23 at the break. They then took the Bears apart in the 2nd half. SG Thomas Matthews—14 pts; PG Mike Bree—12 pts, 7 ast, 5 stl; C Duane Simmons—12 pts.)
Niagara Purple Eagles—77, Southeast Louisiana Lions (14-5, 6-2)—75 (Niagara was in control the entire first half and led 41-30 at intermission. But the Lions came back and during the final 10 minutes of the game there were 9 lead changes. The game was tied with 11 seconds remaining. They were able to get off a 16 foot jumper that went cleanly through the net. The Lions tried to set up a clean shot but instead threw the ball away on their final possession. SG Thomas Matthews—16 pts, 6 ast, 5 stl; reserve C Tom McCrary—15 pts; PF Mike Sanders—14 pts; reserve guard Tom Allen—13 pts.)
Conference Q
Robert Morris Colonials—64, Western Illinois Leathernecks (7-11, 2-5)—56 (The first half featured 8 lead changes with Robert Morris on top 32-25 at the break. The Leathernecks had no answers in the 2nd half and at one point trailed by 18 before cutting the lead in the latter stages of the game. SG Trent Cougar—19 pts, 5 reb, 4 ast; SG Brandt Kennedy—14 pts, 6 reb.)
Western Illinois Leathernecks (8-11, 3-5)—79, Saint Peters Peacocks—61 (The Leathernecks ground out a 42-33 halftime lead and continued to move away from the Peacocks in the 2nd half. PG Trent Cougar—16 pts, 5 reb; PF Walter Jackson—16 pts, 6 reb; SF Aloysius Worley—11 pts, 5 reb.)
Conference R
Oakland Golden Grizzlies—75, UC San Diego Tritons (12-6, 4-3)—66 (Oakland took a 39-32 lead at the end of the first half. Their lead grew to 13 early in the 2nd half, but the Tritons came back to pull ahead with 5 minutes to go. But the Golden Grizzlies then pulled away. C Tommy Jordan—25 pts, 7 reb; SG Brandon Payne—15 pts, 3 stl, 2 blk; PF Bryce Stafford—12 pts, 5 reb, 3 ast.)
UC San Diego Tritons (13-6, 5-3)—64, Texas A&M-CC Islanders—45 (The Tritans were in charge in the 1st half but led just 26-23 at the break. They then steadily added to the lead in the 2nd half to win with ease. PF Bryce Stafford—20 pts, 5 reb; C Tommy Jordan—15 pts, 8 reb; SG Brandon Payne—10 pts, 6 reb, 6 ast.)
Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks (12-7, 4-3)—69, Lafayette Leopards—55 (There were no spots to hide for the Leopards in the first half and they limped into the 2nd half trailing 49-28. MD-Eastern Shore coasted through the 2nd half and was never challenged. Reserve forward Trent Crockrom—14 pts; SF Rob Evans—13 pts, 7 reb; C Andy Cummings—11 pts; PF Zamiro Colter—10 pts.)
Sacramento State Hornets—69, Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks (12-8, 4-4)—58 (The Hawks fell behind early and trailed 34-20 at halftime. They could make no headway in the 2nd half. PF Rob Evans—11 pts, 8 reb; SF Trent Crockrom—10 pts, 4 reb, 3 stl.)
Awards: None.
Injuries: Mike Bree of SE Louisiana—back spasms—2 days; Rick Miller of MD-Eastern Shore—sore wrist—2 days.
Comments: Another so-so week with each team splitting their two games.