Men's Basketball to Host First Ever Prospect Camp

JULY 26, 2012

SHREVEPORT, La. - The LSU Shreveport Men's Basketball team will conduct its first-ever Prospect Camp on Friday, August 3 at "The Dock" on the LSUS campus. The camp will begin at 3:00 p.m. with registration starting at 2:30 p.m. The event will allow all campers to showcase their abilities through a college-style workout, while also giving them to opportunity to be evaluated by the men's basketball coaching staff during live-scrimmage action. The camp is open to all current high school juniors and seniors. College students with two or more years of eligibility remaining may also attend.

Please contact Coach Blankenship via email at [email protected] with the following information to pre-register for this event:

•1) Name

•2) Date of Birth

•3) Current/Previous School

•4) High School and/or College Playing Experience

•5) ACT/SAT score and/or Current GPA

Date: 8/3/12

Time: 3:00 p.m. (Registration at 2:30 p.m.)

Cost: $50

Blankenship named LSUS Men's Basketball Head Coach

JUNE 29, 2012

SHREVEPORT, La. - Kyle Blankenship has been named the Head Coach to lead the LSU Shreveport Pilots men's basketball team. He returns to LSUS as a coach after a one year stint at Lamar State College and the previous two seasons at Rogers State University. He was the first assistant coach at both schools.

"I am very grateful for the opportunity to become the new Head Coach at LSUS. I have been very fortunate during my coaching and playing career to be a part of some great teams with great players, while also working and playing for several coaches that have helped mold me into the coach I am today. I cannot even begin to verbalize how excited I am to be returning home to LSUS," said Blankenship. "I am looking forward to embracing the tradition and building on the tremendous success Coach McDowell and this program has had over the last nine years," he continued. I know that with the help of our administration, faculty, staff, coaches and students we can continue to make LSUS a wonderful university where great things happen."

Blankenship also played one season at LSUS, finishing his playing career in 2006 for the Pilots. As a player and coach Blankenship helped the Pilots to a 106-27 overall record, two regular season Gulf Coast Athletic Conference (GCAC) titles, four consecutive GCAC Tournament championships (2006-2009) and four straight NAIA National Tournament appearances (2006-2009).

Blankenship guided the Pilots offense to a record-breaking season and a No. 1 national ranking during his senior season. He finished his career at LSUS as the school's single-season assists leader (199) and single-game assists record holder (14), while leading the nation in assists-to-turnover ratio.

He began his playing career at The University of Tulsa in 2001 where he was a team captain, three-year letter winner and a member of two Western Athletic Conference championship teams. During those two seasons, the team made consecutive appearances in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. After transferring to LSUS to complete his collegiate eligibility, Blankenship returned to Tulsa and received his Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration.

The Shreveport native was a standout high school player at C.E. Byrd High School from 1997-2001, playing all four seasons for former LSUS Head Coach Chad McDowell. Blankenship was a two-time All-City selection as a junior and a senior, while earning All-State honors as a senior.

Former men's basketball coach Chad McDowell, who is in transition to become the next Athletic Director at LSUS, has high praise for the new leader of the program, "It's exciting to have Kyle Blankenship back at LSUS. He is a fantastic young coach who has experience as a player and coach at multiple levels of competition. Kyle is a very good recruiter and has a great understanding of basketball. He served as an assistant coach in three highly successful programs over the past six years. He is a leader who will do a superb job serving as the Head Coach for our men's basketball program."

LSUS claims RRAC Sportsmanship Award

JUNE 15, 2012

WACO, Texas -- Conference Athletic Directors selected LSU Shreveport as the overall winner of the 2011-12 Red River Athletic Conference Sportsmanship Award. LSU Shreveport's coaches, players and administration exhibited the best demeanor and conduct during the most recent academic year.

Special recognition was given to the University of St. Thomas (Texas) for its women's programs and LSUS for its men's teams. The RRAC Sportsmanship Award is given annually to the RRAC member institution that displayed the highest level of sportsmanship including teamwork, fair play, respect for the game and conduct in competition. The school's sportsmanship must be apparent across multiple sports, on and off the field and in interaction with fellow member schools.

Representatives from LSUS and UST will be presented with the awards at the conference meetings in September in Dallas.

-RRAC-

McDowell receives Champions of Character Award at the NAIA National Convention

APRIL 17, 2012

Newport Beach, Calif. - The national winner of NAIA's Champions of Character Coach Award is announced every year in the last week of April. The winner is then recognized at the NAIA National Convention the following year.

Coach McDowell was the recipient of the award for the 2010 - 2011 season and was recognized Sunday night at the NAIA Awards Banquet. McDowell participated in the NAIA Convention as well sitting on a Champions of Character Panel to discuss some proven ways to incorporate the Champions of Character Program into a sports team.

The Champions of Character program promotes five core values that are crucial to the development of our youth: integrity, respect, responsibility, sportsmanship, and servant leadership. The mission of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIN) Champions of Character (COC) program is to provide training to ensure character is demonstrated through conduct as well as competition, so students know, do and value the right thing in all areas of life.

Sunday, April 15, 2012, was not only the NAIA Awards Banquet where McDowell was introduced by NAIA's John McCarthy but was McDowell's birthday as well. "It is an honor to be recognized by the NAIA for this award and it was nice that the awards banquet was on my birthday. However, the most special part of the entire deal is that my wife Jennifer was able to be on stage to present me with the award."

Before McDowell gave thanks to all the players and assistant coaches that made this possible, he joked with the crowd that his wife, Jennifer, made the trip because she still didn't believe him getting the award was true. He also mentioned his appreciation to Chancellor Dr. Marsala and Athletics Director Doug Robinson for giving him the opportunity to lead the Men's Basketball Program nine years ago. Dr. Terry Harris, Faculty Athletics Representative, makes the trip annually for the convention and attended this year's awards banquet in support of McDowell.

Parker, Shyne named to LSWA All-LA Teams

APRIL 09, 2012

HAMMOND, La. - Derrick Parker was selected to the LSWA All-Louisiana Second Team after a great senior season for the Pilots. Parker averaged 19.4 points and 11.3 rebounds per game. Greg Shyne was named as a honorable mention after leading the Pilots with 20.6 points per game.

See the official release below from the LSWA.

RICHARD, BANKS HIGHLIGHT ALL-LOUISIANA MEN'S BASKETBALL TEAM

HAMMOND - After concluding a season in which he was named an Associated Press Honorable Mention All-American, McNeese State University standout Patrick Richard was selected as the Louisiana Men's Basketball Player of the Year in a release Saturday by the Louisiana Sports Writers Association.

First-year head coach Roman Banks of Southern was named the Coach-of-the-Year after guiding the Jaguars to a 17-win season and a second-place finish in the Southwestern Athletic Conference.

LSU's Justin Hamilton was selected as the state's Newcomer-of-the-Year and Tulane's Ricky Tarrant was chosen as the Freshman-of-the-Year. The All-Louisiana Team is voted on by media members throughout the state of Louisiana and the nominating schools' sports information directors.

Richard, a Carencro native and the lone player from 2011 to repeat as a first-team member, led the Southland Conference in scoring, averaging 17.9 points per game while grabbing 6.4 rebounds. The 6-foot-4 senior averaged 19.1 points per game in Southland Conference contests, where he was chosen as the league's Player of the Year. Richard, who finished as the Cowboys' 12th-leading scorer in school history with 1,625 points, joined a group of six players to lead his team in scoring for three years.

Banks, who spent the previous eight seasons as an assistant at Southeastern Louisiana and was an assistant at Southern from 1996-2002, took over a Southern program that had recorded a combined 15 wins the previous three years. Taking over a team that was picked to finish 10th in the league's preseason poll, Banks led Southern to a 17-14 record. The Jaguars led the SWAC in field goal percentage defense holding opponents to 38.7 percent from the floor while finishing second in the league in scoring defense allowing 63.9 points per game.

Hamilton, a transfer from Iowa State, helped LSU return to the postseason for the first time since 2009 after he averaged 12.9 points and 7.2 rebounds - both team bests. The seven-footer earned Second-Team All-SEC honors and recorded four double-doubles, highlighted by a 23-point, 16-rebound performance against Ole Miss in the league opener.

Tarrant, the Conference USA Freshman-of-the-Year, led the Green Wave in scoring as he reached the 20-point mark in nine games during the season. The 6-1 guard earned First-Team All-Conference USA honors and was second among all players in league games averaging 18.2 points per game. He scored in double figures in 15 of Tulane's 16 league games, paced by 33-point performances against SMU and UAB. Richard, Hamilton and Tarrant were joined on the first team by Northwestern State's William Mosley and Quincy Roberts of Grambling.

Mosley, a Shreveport native, capped off a stellar career for Northwestern State as he finished fifth in NCAA history with 460 blocks. The 6-7 post player blocked 4.1 shots per game for the Demons, finishing second in the nation behind Kentucky's Anthony Davis. Mosley finished second on the team in scoring at 11.7 points per game and led the Southland Conference with 9.6 rebounds.

Roberts, a 6-5 guard, averaged 23.9 points (would have finished third among Division I players in 2011-12) in 20 games in his first season for Grambling after transferring from St. John's. Named the SWAC Newcomer-of-the-Year and a first-team All-SWAC selection, Roberts scored 20 or more points 14 times on the season with a season-high 34 coming against Prairie View.

Leading the second team was Derrick Parker of LSU Shreveport, who averaged 19.4 points and 11.3 rebounds per game. He was joined by Louisiana Tech's Raheem Appleby (13.9 ppg., 2.4 rpg.), Corey Gray of Loyola (17.7 ppg., 4.3 rpg.), Centenary's Maxx Nakwaasah (25.4 ppg., 8.6 rpg.) and Josh Brown of Louisiana-Lafayette (10.4 ppg., 6.4 rpg.).

LSU freshman Anthony Hickey (8.9 ppg., 3.8 assists) paced the third-team and was joined by Nicholls State's Trevon Lewis (12.6 ppg., 5.1 rpg.), Lovell Cook of UNO (14.0 ppg., 5.1 rpg.), Roosevelt Johnson of Southeastern Louisiana (11.5 ppg., 7.9 rpg.) and Tulane's Josh Davis (11.2 ppg., 9.3 rpg.).

2012 ALL-LOUISIANA MEN'S BASKETBALL TEAM

FIRST TEAM

Patrick Richard, McNeese State, F, Sr., Carencro, La. - 17.9 ppg., 6.4 rpg.

William Mosley, Northwestern State, C, Sr., Shreveport, La. - 11.7 ppg., 9.6 rpg., 4.1 blks

Justin Hamilton, LSU, C, Jr., Alpine, Utah - 12.9 ppg., 7.2 rpg., 1.3 blocks

Quincy Roberts, Grambling, G, Jr., Harrisburg, Pa. - 23.9 ppg., 6.0 rpg.

Ricky Tarrant, Tulane, G, Fr., Pleasant Grove, Ala. - 14.9 ppg., 3.6 rpg.

SECOND TEAM

Derrick Parker, LSU Shreveport, F, Sr., Minden, La. - 19.4 ppg., 11.3 rpg.

Raheem Appleby, Louisiana Tech, G, Fr., Jacksonville, Ark. - 13.9 ppg., 2.4 rpg., 1.2 assists

Corey Gray, Loyola, G, Sr., Green, Ind. - 17.7 ppg., 4.3 rpg., 2.1 steals

Maxx Nakwaasah, Centenary, G, Sr., Dallas, Texas - 25.4 ppg., 8.6 rpg. Josh Brown, Louisiana-Lafayette, G, Sr., Ruston, La. - 10.4 ppg., 6.4 rpg.

THIRD TEAM

Anthony Hickey, LSU, G, Fr., Hopkinsville, Ky. - 8.9 ppg., 3.6 rpg., 3.8 assists

Trevon Lewis, Nicholls State, F, Fr., Houma, La. - 12.6 ppg., 5.1 rpg.

Lovell Cook, New Orleans, F, Jr., New Orleans, La. - 14.0 ppg., 5.1 rpg.

Roosevelt Johnson, Southeastern Louisiana, F, Jr., Norco, La. - 11.5 ppg., 7.9 rpg.

Josh Davis, Tulane, F, Soph., Raleigh, N.C. - 11.2 ppg., 9.3 rpg.

HONORABLE MENTION

Quinton Doggett, Southern; Greg Shyne, LSU Shreveport; Shamir Davis, Northwestern State; Robert Lovaglio, Loyola; Andre Stringer, LSU.

PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Patrick Richard, McNeese State

Voting: Richard, McNeese State (17); William Mosley, Northwestern State (6); Derrick Parker, LSU-S (4); Quincy Roberts, Grambling (3); Justin Hamilton, LSU (1).

NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR: Justin Hamilton, LSU

Voting: Hamilton, LSU (13); Quincy Roberts, Grambling (11); Lovell Cook, New Orleans (5); Josh Davis, Tulane (1); Trevor Gaskins, Louisiana Tech (1).

FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR: Ricky Tarrant, Tulane

Voting: Tarrant, Tulane (17); Raheem Appleby, Louisiana Tech (6); Anthony Hickey (4); Trevon Lewis, Nicholls State (4).

COACH OF THE YEAR: Roman Banks, Southern

Voting: Banks, Southern (9.5); Michael White, Louisiana Tech (5); Dannton Jackson, Xavier (5); Mark Slessinger, New Orleans (3.5); Chad McDowell, LSU-S (3); Michael Giorlando, Loyola (3); Dave Simmons, McNeese State (1 - write-in); no vote (1).

LSUS Men's Basketball in Top 10 of NAIA Final Rating

MARCH 27, 2012

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - The NAIA Division I Men's Basketball Coaches' Postseason Top 25 Poll was released yesterday and the Pilots finished as the #7 ranked team in the country. The Postseason poll takes into consideration the overall season including the performances at the National Tournament.

LSU Shreveport won their 7th consecutive conference tournament championship and qualified for their 8th consecutive national tournament. The Pilots went 2 - 1 in Kansas City advancing to the elite eight. They were defeated in the quarterfinals by eventual national champion Concordia University. Their play during the NAIA National Tournament was strong enough for the NAIA Coaches to move the Pilots up from their regular season final ranking of 12th to the #7 spot.

"We are pleased with a final rating of 7th and are proud of the season we had," commented Coach Chad McDowell. "We had six seniors that provided great leadership all season long and they didn't disappoint in Kansas City. This is a great group of guys and we are very proud of them and for them." Coach McDowell is referring to the Pilots six seniors on the 2011 - 2012 roster which includes Isiah Bazile, Jacoby Marshall, Derrick Parker, Greg Shyne, Cody Walker, and Aubin Young.

Parker, Shyne recognized as NAIA All-Americans

MARCH 21, 2012

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) announced the 2011 - 12 Division I Men's Basketball All-America Teams on Wednesday. The selections are made by the NAIA Men's Basketball Coaches' Association All-America Committee and comprises a First, Second, Third and Honorable Mention Team. There are 10 members on each of the first three All-America teams. LSU Shreveport's Derrick Parker was selected to the 2nd Team while Greg Shyne was honored as an honorable mention.

The Minden, Louisiana natives, Parker and Shyne, turned in another outstanding season as they helped lead the Pilots to their 7th consecutive Conference Tournament Championship, their 8th consecutive trip to the Buffalo Funds-NAIA National Tournament in Kansas City, and their first-ever appearance in the quarter finals of the post season party.

Parker, the 6-6 senior forward, highlighted his NAIA All-American campaign averaging a double-double scoring 19.2 points per game and pulling down 11.5 rebounds per game. He scored double figures in all but one contest this season and totaled his point to more than 20 on 17 occasions. The second teamer turned in an impressive 24 double-doubles. Parker's scored his season-high of 31 points on November 30, 2011, against nationally ranked, Our Lady of the Lake University and pulled down his season high of 21 boards on November 5, 2011, against the University of Science and Arts. Shyne, an honorable mention selection, led the Pilots in scoring averaging 20.6 points per contest while pulling down 4.1 rebounds per game. The 6-0 guard scored double figures in all but two games this season leading the Pilots to another magical season. The high flying Minden native had one of his best games of his career in Kansas City lighting up the scoreboard for the season-high of 32 points getting the Pilots past Southern Poly and into the Quarter Finals for the first time in school history.

These two seniors will always be remembered and never forgotten at LSUS and the NAIA. Fans coming to the Dock on any given night knew they could count on D.P. collecting a double-double and was sure to see high-flying Shyne jump over defenders for another slam dunk or drain a few from downtown. In addition to their amazing play, they will also be remembered for their unselfish play as neither cared if they scored a lot just as long as the Pilots brought home another win.

Pilots magical season comes to an end with loss to Concordia

MARCH 17, 2012

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - The threes came pouring down on No. 12-seeded LSU Shreveport in the first half on Saturday as fourth-seeded Concordia (Calif.) won going away, 84-65, in the quarterfinals of the 75th Anniversary Buffalo Funds-NAIA Division I Men's Basketball National Championship. The Eagles will make their first Fab Four appearance since 2007 and fourth all-time.

Concordia will play No. 1 Shorter (Ga.) on Monday at 6 p.m. CDT, in the first semifinal contest of the day.

"Tommy Granado and Dakota Downs did a great job going right at them in the paint," Concordia head coach Ken Ammann said. "It was a great team effort. That is all there really is to say. I am so proud of our guys."

The Eagles controlled play from the opening tip, racing out to an 18-6 advantage at the 15:51 mark after a Cameron Gliddon 3-pointer. Gliddon's three first-half triplets were part of a barrage of long-range bombs by Concordia, which nailed eight of its first 11 attempts from beyond the arc. The Eagles connected on treys on three-straight possessions spanning from the 16:53 to the 15:51 mark of the opening stanza. Tommy Stangl and Austin Simon initiated the run by capitalizing on 3-point shots of their own.

"First off, they are a great basketball team," LSU Shreveport head coach Chad McDowell said. "We're a pretty good basketball team also. I want to tip my hat and give them credit.They were making shots and we just dug ourselves such a hole."

The game was all but decided in the first half as Concordia shot a sizzling 61.3 percent (19-for-31) from the field and 61.5 percent (8-for-13) from deep. The Eagles took a 50-25 lead to the break and cruised the rest of the way. Concordia slumped to 1-for-8 from the 3-point arc in the second half, but managed to extend the margin to 67-39 with 13:38 left after a Downs basket in the paint. The final 19-point spread, which was the largest victory margin in a quarterfinal matchup since Mountain State (W.Va.) tagged Azusa Pacific (Calif.) 72-51 in 2008, was the closest the Pilots would get throughout the remainder of the game.

Gliddon, who has drilled 14-of-24 3-point attempts in his first three games at the tournament, finished with 14 points following outputs of 30 and 20 points, respectively, in games one and two for the Eagles. Simon's 17 points paced Concordia, which shot 48.4 percent (31-for-64) for the game.

LSU Shreveport's Greg Shyne led all players with 21 points on 8-for-21 shooting. Shyne dropped 18 points in the first- round win over Xavier (La.) and 32 points in the second-round victory over Southern Poly (Ga.). The Pilots' Derrick Parker registered a double-double with 15 points and 13 rebounds.

The Pilots held a 43-34 advantage on the glass, but turned it over 17 times compared to only eight for Concordia. The Eagle offense ran efficiently as they assisted on 22 of their 31 field goals.

Concordia improved to 29-7 this season and 22-8 all-time in its 10 national tournament appearances. LSU Shreveport ends its season at 27-8 overall and fell to 5-8 in eight appearances at the National Championship.

Game notes: Concordia - Concordia is 4-3 all-time in quarterfinal round games and 22-8 overall at the national tournament in 10 tournament showings ... The Eagles return to the Fab Four for the first time since 2007 when they lost in the national championship game to Oklahoma City ... Concordia leads all teams at the national tournament with 30 made three-point field goals ... The Eagles have hit nine or more three-pointers in 13 games this season and are 12-1 in those contests.

LSU Shreveport - LSU Shreveport finished with at least 27 wins for the third-straight season and fourth time in five campaigns ... The Pilots went 5-5 this season when committing at least 17 turnovers ... LSU Shreveport qualified for its first-ever quarterfinal round game in its eighth appearance at the national tournament and has an all-time record of 5-8 ... Senior guard Greg Shyne scored 20 or more points for the 19th time this season.

LSU Shreveport Earns First-ever Quarterfinal Appearance

MARCH 16, 2012

The Pilots shoot 55 percent from the field to defeat Southern Poly

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - LSU Shreveport will be making its first-ever quarterfinal-round appearance at the 2012 Buffalo Funds-NAIA Division I Men's Basketball National Championship after posting a 84-71 victory Southern Poly on Friday afternoon at Municipal Auditorium. "This is our eighth consecutive appearance in the tournament and our program is only nine years old," said LSU Shreveport Coach Chad McDowell. "We've done some great things in the past, and this team has taken what has been built and turned it into something special."

Senior guard Greg Shyne scored a career-high 32 points on 9-of-14 shooting for the #12-seeded Pilots, who will take on the winner of #4 Concordia (Calif.) and Montana Western on Saturday, March 17 at 4:00 p.m. (CDT). Derrick Parker added 22 points and 12 rebounds for his 23rd double-double of the season, while Mark Politte and Cody Walker had 12 points apiece.

Shyne hit the first of his two three-point shots 3:31 into the game and kicked off an 18-3 scoring stretch that covered 4:15 and gave the Pilots a 22-10 advantage. The lead grew to as much as 20 points before Southern Poly answered with 10- straight points to halve the deficit.

Five different Pilots scored inside the first five minutes of the second half, and Cody Walker tallied a free throw to balloon the lead back up to 18 points. The Hornets were unable to cut the deficit below double digits the rest of the way to suffer the 7th second-round loss at the national tournament in the program's history.

The Pilots shot 55.1 percent from the field, the second-best total thus far in the tournament, and converted 24-of-34 from the free throw line. Southern Poly hoisted 34 of its 66 field goal attempts from three-point range, but found the mark on just nine attempts.

Smith scored 22 points to lead the way for Southern Poly, which finished its season with a record of 25-7. Pitts added 12 points and 12 rebounds, C.J. McElrath tossed in 11 points, and Jesse Childs tallied 10 points.

Game notes: LSU-Shreveport: The Pilots are ranked No. 7 in the NAIA in three-point field goal defense (.289) ... Derrick Parker ranks No. 1 in blocks per game (3.1), No. 1 in total blocks (101), No. 1 in total rebounds (378) and No. 3 in total rebounds per game (11.5) ... Parker improved his NAIA-leading double-double total to 23. ... Greg Shyne posted his fifth game this season with at least 10 made free throws.

Southern Poly: Southern Poly dropped to 10-15 all-time in the national tournament ... The Saints ranked first in the NAIA in steals per game (14.8), but were held 10 below their season average ... They also ranked No. 2 in three-point field goals per game (10.2) and No. 3 in turnover margin (+6.7) ... Two players ranked in the top 10 in steals per game - Bobby Smith is ranked No. 7 at 3.1 per game and Trey Payne is ranked No. 8 at 3.0 per game.

LSU Shreveport Erases Early Hole to Get Past Xavier, 66-63

MARCH 15, 2012

Pilots are 18-1 in their last 19 games March 15, 2012 KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Cody Walker scored 12 first-half points to help No. 12 LSU Shreveport (La.) to a 66-63 victory against Xavier (La.) in the first round of the 2012 Buffalo Funds-NAIA Division I Men's Basketball National Championship this morning. Trailing 10-1 in the game's first six minutes, Walker and his teammates battled back for a 36-25 halftime lead. The 75th Anniversary event is being played at Municipal Auditorium.

"For us to miss so many free throws (nine) and still put them away and take the victory says a lot about our guys," said LSU Shreveport head coach Chad McDowell. "I'm very proud of our team and especially our seniors. But that Xavier squad is a tough and very talented team and they fought hard all the way until the end."

Five Xavier players scored points in the early run as the Gold Rush led 10-1 out of the gate. However, things quickly turned the other way. Derrick Parker, who is the team's second-leading scorer, started the comeback for LSU Shreveport at the 13:44 mark. When the dust settled, the Pilots rolled off 15 of the next 20 points in the game to take a 16-15 lead. After the lead changed four more times, LSU Shreveport ended the first half with an 11-point lead.

The Gold Rush came out strong in the second half. Led by five points from Chris Iles in a mini 7-0 spurt, Xavier took a 47- 42 lead at the 9:52 mark. The team out of the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference held onto the lead until LSU Shreveport's Mark Politte heated up. His 3-pointer and jumper around the 6-minute mark swung the momentum back for good. The Pilots were up, 56-51, at that point

A triple by Iles cut the deficit down to three with 27 seconds remaining, but the Pilots hung on with free throw shooting and defense.

For the game, both teams did not shoot well with LSU Shreveport going 22-for-61 (.361) and Xavier at 35.4 percent (23- of-65). Xavier hit 11-of-27 (.407) three-pointers, but was outscored 16-6 at the free throw line.

Parker, who leads the country with 22 double-doubles, notched another one with 13 points and 16 rebounds. Greg Shyne finished with 18 points, and Cody Walker came away with 12.

Iles led Xavier with 17 points in the losing effort. Denzell Erves chipped in 15 points and seven rebounds.

"I thought that the guys did a really good job all year long, especially coming back and being the regular season-co- champs ( in Gulf Coast Athletic) and getting to the field of 32, which is a very special place," said Xavier head coach Dannton Jackson. "We've had an unbelievable week, being here for the 75th anniversary and the banquet is really special."

Xavier completes its season with a 23-9 record. Game notes: Xavier - Xavier is making its 13th national tournament appearance and is now 4-13 all-time including a 3-10 mark in opening round games ... The Gold Rush have lost six-of-seven opening-round appearances since 2001, claiming their only win in 2007 over Georgetown (Ky.), 82-79 ... Xavier entered the game ranked No. 2 in the NAIA in field goal percentage defense (.379) and No. 8 in scoring defense (62.5).

LSU Shreveport - LSU Shreveport is appearing in its eighth-straight national tournament since making a 2005 debut ... The Pilots improved to 4-7 all-time in the event including a second-straight opening round triumph to even their first game record at 4-4 ... LSU Shreveport has now won seven-straight games and is 18-of-19 overall dating back to Jan. 16th ... The Pilots came into the national tournament ranked third in the NAIA in field goal percentage defense (.380), fifth in 3- point field goal percentage defense (.285) and ninth in blocks per game (4.6).

LSU Shreveport Men's Basketball Recognized Again By NAIA Champions of Character Program

MARCH 13, 2012

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - LSU Shreveport's Men's Head Basketball Coach Chad McDowell received more great news this past weekend. McDowell received word that Jake Greene has been selected as a recipient of the Pattison Family Foundation Champion of Character Scholarship. Each year, the Pattison's select four student-athletes who they feel best exemplify the five core values of the Champions of Character Program. Those five core values are Respect, Responsibility, Integrity, Sportsmanship, and Servant Leadership.

The Pilots are no strangers to the NAIA Champion of Character Program. In 2006, the NAIA began awarding one team with the Champions of Character Team Award. The winner of the inaugural award was the LSU Shreveport Pilots. That same year, the Pattison Family began recognizing four student-athletes as Champions of Character and awarding each winner with a $2,000 scholarship. Jake Greene is the Pilots fourth recipient of this prestigious honor.

Winners from previous years for LSU Shreveport include Greg Tyer (2006), Josh Porter (2008), and Jared Stevenson (2009). Coach McDowell was selected this past year as the Champion of Character Coach Award. The NAIA will recognize Coach McDowell in Newport Beach, California, during their Annual Conference and Awards Banquet on April 15, 2012.

Jake Greene will attend a meet and greet with the Pattison family at NAIA Headquarters on Tuesday afternoon. There he will have an opportunity to visit with the Pattisons and meet the other three recipients of the award. Jake will then be recognized Tuesday evening at the NAIA Men's Basketball Tip-Off Banquet and will be presented with a $2,000 scholarship check. Coach McDowell agrees with the Pattisons in their selection of Greene for the award. "I honestly can't think of a more deserving young man for this award. Jake is definitely a Champion of Character and one we are very proud to have in our program and here at LSU Shreveport." Greene was appreciative of his nomination by his coaches, selection by the Pattisons, and when notified by phone said "Wow! Thanks Coach! God is amazing!"

Pilots draw former GCAC opponent Xavier in first round

MARCH 07, 2012

SHREVEPORT, La. - The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) has officially released the bracket for the 75th Annual Buffalo Funds-NAIA Division I Men's Basketball National Championship. The single-elimination tournament takes place from March 14 - 20 in Kansas City, Mo., and historic Municipal Auditorium. The event tips off for the Pilots at 9 a.m. CST on Thursday, March 15, as No. 12 LSU Shreveport faces Xavier (La.).

LSUS (25-7) is one of the hottest teams in the country having won 22 of their last 24 games and recently claimed their seventh consecutive conference tournament title. The Pilots make their eighth consecutive trip to the big dance having posted a 3-7 record.

Xavier (23-8) will appear for the 14th time in Kansas City as they have posted a 4-12 overall record.

Pilots land three on All-RRAC Teams

MARCH 06, 2012

WACO, Texas - Derrick Parker was selected as the Defensive Player of the Year in the Red River Athletic Conference while the Pilots added two more on the All-RRAC teams.

Parker, a senior forward from Minden, Louisiana, was named to the First Team while Greg Shyne, a senior guard, another Minden native was also a First Team selection. Parker led the NAIA with 2.9 blocks per game and 362 total rebounds. He also ranks in the top nine in all rebounding categories and averaged a double-double for the third season in a row with 19.4 points per game and 11.3 boards per contest. Shyne led the Pilots in scoring with 20.3 points per game and is 9th in the NAIA with 650 points.

Isiah Bazile, a senior guard from Houston, Texas, was named to the Second Team. Bazile added 9.6 points per game and 6.3 rebounds per game and for the third straight season he collected more than 100 assists with a career high 130.

To view the complete list of the teams click here.

The no. 14 Pilots had already punched their ticket for an eighth consecutive year to Kansas City for the Buffalo Funds NAIA National Tournament when they claimed their seventh consecutive conference tournament championship on Monday night with a 111-101 win over no. 7 Our Lady of the Lake. The opponent and game time will be announced tomorrow, March 7th.

Pilots claim their 7th consecutive title

MARCH 05, 2012

WAXAHACHIE, Tex. - The no. 14 LSU Shreveport Pilots powered their way to their seventh consecutive conference tournament title and their second straight in the Red River Athletic Conference as they scored a season-high 111 points in route to a 111-101 victory over the no. 7 Our Lady of the Lake University Saints in a game that saw 10 different scorers reach double digits.

OLLU (26-7) appeared to be having their way with LSUS (25-7) early on but the Pilots made adjustments and came roaring back making 60% of their shots from the field and was an impressive 43-56 (76%) from the free-throw line. Both teams overcame 15-point deficits in the game as they lead changed 14 times and the score was tied 12 times.

Derrick Parker turned in his usual double-double with the game-highs of 29 points and 10 rebounds as 11 of his points came from the charity stripe after a nine of 15 performance from the field. Greg Shyne, being one of three Pilots with 20+ points, netted 26 with nine field goals and was eight of nine from the line.

Isiah Bazile tossed in 13 of his 21 points from the free-throw line in just 15 attempts despite being under the weather. He also was four of six from the field.

Rydell Harris had another great game for the Pilots helping out with a perfect seven of seven from the field as he finished with 15 points while pulling down eight rebounds while Mark Politte made the only three-pointers for the Pilots with the first coming with 10:26 to play in the second half and the second with 7:24 to play as he finished with 10 points.

The Pilots dissected the full-court press put on by the Saints as they scored 32 fast-break points and an impressive 60 in the paint controlling the inside.

The largest lead of the night for the Pilots came with 4:35 to play in the game as they held a 15-point lead 99-84. They would make their last field goal of the contest with 3:47 to play on a reverse layup by Bazile which lifted the Pilots past the century mark for a 101-87 advantage.

OLLU tried their hardest to close the gap but the Pilots made eight of 10 from the free-throw line in the last minute and a half to keep their distance.

The Saints had doubled the LSUS score total at one point in the first half with a 30-15 lead after posting a 17-2 run. The Pilots clawed their way back into the contest shooting 56% from the field in the first half in route to a 53-51 halftime lead thanks to good defense despite the offense turning the ball over 16 times in the half compared to OLLU's 8 turnovers. Rydell Harris got a rebound and put back at the buzzer to give the Pilots the lead at the break. LSUS now holds a 4-3 series lead over the OLLU Saints and both will qualify for the Buffalo Funds NAIA National Tournament in Kansas City. This will be the 8th consecutive year that the Pilots have made the trip north for the big dance.

The field of 32 will be announced on Wednesday, March 7. The tournament is a single-elimination format featuring 18 automatic qualifiers from 12 Division I affiliated conferences and independent institutions, one host berth and 13 at-large teams. The tournament will begin on March 14 with the National Championship game on March 20.

Watch #14 Pilots Live in the RRAC Championship Game

MARCH 05, 2012

Championship Games to be broadcasted WAXAHACHIE, Tex. - The finals of the Red River Athletic Conference basketball tournament are tonight at the Sheaffer Center on the campus of Southwestern Assemblies of God University.

VIEWING THE BROADCAST

Both games, the women's and men's championships, will be broadcast by SAGU SPORTS Live in the NAIA's best HD production. The Waxahachie Chicken Express is sponsoring the venue. The women's contest starts at 5:00pm CST, followed by the men's game at approximately at 7:30pm.

The pre-game show will commence about 4:45-50pm. Fans can access the free livestream on computers, iPhones or hand-held devices by going to www.sagu.edu and clicking on the Watch SAGUtv button.

Clay Scarborough is the host and will handle play-by-play responsibilities. Tim Roberts supplies color commentary. There will also be courtside interviews.

FOLLOWING THE LIVESTATS WEBCAST

Fans can also log onto LiveStats for a creative version of the live accounts of the game. Team and player statistics are posted in real-time adjacent to the scoreboard.

Josh Lacy, the Sports Information Director at Texas Wesleyan University, will be at the keyboard providing this free service at the following links. men: http://www.sidearmstats.com/texaswesleyan/mbball/scoreboard.aspx

Men's Final: OLLU -vs- LSU Shreveport

The nightcap is a clash of the same schools in #1 seed Our Lady of the Lake (26-6) and #2 LSU Shreveport (24-7). The Saints are ranked #7 in the most recent NAIA Coaches Poll; LSUS is #14. This will be the rubber match as the teams split two regular season confrontations. The home team won each game; the Halos in San Antonio by a 112-94 score, while LSUS got the equalizer at The Dock, 83-74.

The series is tied at 3-3. OLLU became a nemesis to the Pilots' after their first two encounters. Three years ago they administered the Pilots' first defeat of the season after nine straight wins. The following campaign the Pilots were charging along at 16-0 before the Saints sunk them again.

OLLU got to the championship by beating Jarvis Christian College (9-21), 108-98, then outlasting Southwestern Assemblies of God University (23-9), 112-109.

The nation's highest scoring (99.7 ppg) team is 16-0 when they eclipse the century mark.

LSUS enters the game having won six straight conference tournament crowns; last year's RRAC and their last five in the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference. The Aquatic Navigators know something about finding north on a compass.

They eliminated Texas College (17-14), 75-72, in dramatic fashion, winning on a buzzer-beating triple. On Saturday they staved off a maddening Texas Wesleyan (25-7) comeback, 84-77.

Both teams have punched their ticket for Kansas City, site of the NAIA's 75th national tournament.

Awards Announced Tonight

The RRAC will announce their 2011-2012 All-Conference teams during tonight's games. Following each final, during the net-cutting ceremonies, the All-Tournament team will also be unveiled in a vote of conference Sports Information Directors.

Story courtesy of the SAGU Sports Information Department

Pilots to play for 7th straight tournament title

MARCH 03, 2012

WAXAHACHIE, Tex. - The no. 14 LSU Shreveport Pilots men's basketball team advances to the Red River Athletic Conference Tournament Championship Game with an 84-77 win over the no. 20 Texas Wesleyan Rams on Saturday afternoon at the Schaefer Center on the campus of Southwestern Assemblies of God University.

LSUS (24-7) controlled the game as they held a double digit lead for the majority of the contest. Greg Shyne got the scoring started a three-pointer on his way to lead the team with 25 points. Five of the seven that played in the game for the Pilots reached the double figure plateau.

Isiah Bazille tossed in 17 points, two shy of his season-high of 19 points while Cody Walker, Derrick Parker, and Mark Politte all adding 11 points each. The Pilots blazed the nets in the Schaefer Center draining 61% from the field including 50% from downtown with Shyne leading the way making three of four. LSUS shot 75% from the free-throw line making 21 of 28 with Bazile making all five of his attempts.

Texas Wesleyan (25-7) finished with three in double figures as Oscar Griffin led all scorers with 27 points while Eric Frederick tossed in 25 and Stephane Mudiay 12. The Rams shot 40% in their elimination game with the Pilots.

LSUS will advance to a game in which they have not lost since 2005, the conference tournament championship game. The Pilots have won the last six conference tournaments. LSUS will play on Monday night at 7:30 p.m. against the winner of SAGU and OLLU both teams of which the Pilots have beaten this year. The game will be broadcast live on the internet at sagu.edu by clicking on watch SAGUtv and then live stream.

Walker shoots Pilots into semis at RRAC Tournament

MARCH 02, 2012

WAXAHACHIE, Tex. - Cody Walker nailed a three-pointer at the buzzer to lift the no. 14 LSU Shreveport Pilots men's basketball team to a 75-72 win over the Texas College Steers at the Schaefer Center on the campus of Southwestern Assemblies of God University in the first round of the RRAC Tournament.

The game-winning bucket from the Minden native cooled off an 8-0 run by the Steers that tied the game with a three from Wendell May with four seconds to play. Walker finished the game with just six points but none were bigger than the last three that he scored.

The Pilots worked hard underneath to controls the boards gathering 38 rebounds to the Steers' 35. Parker led the team with nine while TC's Jhimetriou Cochran was the game's only double digit rebounder with 11.

The LSUS defense forced 20 Texas College turnovers with Derrick Parker leading the way with three steals and also had three blocked shots. Isiah Bazile had two steals.

LSUS (23-7) shot 44% from the field as they topped the scorer's sheet with three in double figures. Parker led the team with 24 points after making 11 of 20 from the field while Greg Shyne, who got the assist on Walker's winning basket, finished the game with 19 points as he gathered most of his points from the charity stripe making 12 of 15 attempts while Isiah Bazile had 19 points and four assists.

Aubin Young almost couldn't miss from the field as he drained four of five attempts to finish with eight points. Mark Politte scored only two points but helped out with seven assists that was the game high in 18 minutes of action.

Texas College (17-14) had their dreams come to an end when Walker's shot swished the bottom of the basket to end their season. They did manage three scorers in double figures as they shot 41% from the field with May leading all scorers with 26 points while Jamal Robertson had 13 and LaDarren Williams 12. The last second victory sends the Pilots into the semi-finals in the RRAC Tournament on Saturday (March 3) at 3 p.m. as they meet the Texas Wesleyan Rams (25-6) for a chance to move on to Monday's Championship Game. The visiting team won both meetings this year with Texas Wesleyan winning 79-73 in triple overtime at The Dock and the Pilots winning 61- 57 at The SID Richardson Center.

Pilots begin their quest for another conference tourney title

MARCH 02, 2012

WAXAHACHIE, Tex. - The no. 14 LSU Shreveport Pilots men's basketball team will begin RRAC Tournament play today at the Sheaffer Center on the campus of Southwestern Assemblies of God University against the 7th seeded Texas College Steers at 2 p.m.

To follow today's game with live stats click here.

The opening round match up with the Steers will be a rematch of Monday's 74-50 win for the Pilots. Texas College (17-13, 13-11) won the first meeting of the year in Tyler 75-68.

LSUS (22-7, 20-4 RRAC) has won six conference tournaments in a row as they search for their seventh consecutive conference tournament title. The Pilots have not lost in a conference tournament since 2005. Regardless of the outcome of this year's RRAC Tournament the Pilots will make their 8th consecutive trip to the Buffalo Funds NAIA National Tournament in Kansas City.

The Pilots have won 14 of their last 15 contest while Texas College has lost four of their last five games.

For live score updates on Twitter following LSUS Sports Information Director Mark Cantrell @cantrellmark.

Pilots crush Texas College in regular season finale

FEBRUARY 27, 2012

SHREVEPORT, La. - Derrick Parker and Greg Shyne led the Pilots to a 74-50 convincing win over the Texas College Steers on Monday night at The Dock in the final game of the regular season in front of the largest crowd of the year of 1,025 on Senior Night.

LSUS (22-7, 20-4 RRAC) had a dominating performance in the paint outscoring the Steers 40-14 including a 20-2 thrashing in the first half as they put together a 15-2 run in the last six minutes of the first half for an 11-point 32-21 halftime lead. The defense came up big for the Pilots holding the steers to just 25% shooting in the first half of play. The no. 14 Pilots continued in the second half polishing the halftime lead to 42-29 outscoring of Texas College in the second half. LSUS had good transition outscoring the Steers 10-0 on fast breaks while netting a dozen points off TC's 13 turnovers while only surrendering 2 turnover points.

Texas College (17-13, 13-11 RRAC) had a tough time with the LSUS defense as the Steers offense only netted 33% of their shots and was just six of 22 from beyond the arc.

Parker claimed another double-double leading all scorers and rebounders with 23 points with a 10-19 performance from the field and 11 rebounds. Shyne tossed in 22 points after nailing three from downtown in six attempts and was a perfect three of three from the charity stripe.

Despite Shyne's success at the free-throw line the Pilots would like to forget about their performance from the line making just 12 of 22 but it came on a night where they did not need the points but would have loved to have had them as they could have put the game on ice even earlier than they did.

Aubin Young had another great game for the Pilots underneath grabbing five defensive rebounds and finished with six total while converting of three of five attempts from the field netting a total of six points. Cody Walker scored four points but had seven key rebounds and led the team with five assists in the game while Isiah Bazile finished with four assists.

Jake Greene finally energized the crowd that had grown comfortable with the lead as they stood to their feet to cheer the long-range shooter as he drained a long three late in the second half to finish with five points as he added a pair of free- throws before the end of the night. Rydell Harris added six points and pulled down four rebounds with two assists.

Jacoby Marshall helped the Pilots complete the win as he entered the game in the second half. Next year he will join the coaching staff at LSUS as a student-assistant.

LSUS pulled down a total of 47 rebounds compared to the Steers 30.

The six Pilot seniors, Parker, Shyne, Bazile, Young, Walker, and Marshall, did not disappoint in their final game at The Dock as they put together another great performance to lock up the #2 seed for the Pilots in this year's RRAC Tournament which begins play on Friday in Waxahachie, Texas. LSUS will take on the 7th seeded Texas College Steers again at 2:00 this Friday in the first round match-up.

Pilots Thrive in overtime to defeat Wiley

FEBRUARY 23, 2012

MARSHALL, Tex. - The no. 19 LSU Shreveport Pilots men's basketball team spoiled the second to last home game of the season for Wiley College with a 66-64 overtime win at the Alumni Gym. LSUS outscored the Wildcats 8-6 in the extra period to pick up their second straight win. Greg Shyne led all scorers with 20 points on a list that had two other Pilots with double-doubles. Isiah Bazile picked up his fourth double-double of the season with 13 points and 13 rebounds while Rydell Harris got his first with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Derrick Parker just missed the double figures list with nine points while Cody Walker hit some big free-throws in overtime as he finished with eight points.

LSUS (21-7, 19-4 RRAC) shot 54% in the first half but the offense was cooled off by the Wiley defense holding the Pilots to just 29% for the second half and overtime period on a night where 22 turnovers were almost too much for the visitors to overcome. Wiley (19-8, 15-7 RRAC) had 13 points off LSUS turnovers while the Pilots scored just six off 17 Wildcat mistakes.

The game was evenly matched on the scoreboard throughout as neither team held more than a nine-point lead which the Pilots had towards the end of the first half. Wiley never had a lead larger than five.

With the win LSUS is just half a game out of first place in the RRAC regular season standings with just one game to play. The no. 7 OLLU Saints are in the lead but they still have two games to play as they host Langston on Saturday and travel to Jarvis to end the regular season on Monday at 7:30. A loss in both of these contests and a win by the Pilots over Texas College on Monday would earn LSUS the RRAC regular season title. However, if OLLU splits their final two games and LSUS wins on Monday then there would be a tie and co-champions would be named for the regular season.

Parker, Shyne lead Pilots past Jarvis

FEBRUARY 21, 2012

HAWKINS, Tex. - Derrick Parker and Greg Shyne led the charge for the LSU Shreveport Pilots on Monday night combing for 51 points in LSUS' 75-54 thumping of the Jarvis Christian Bulldogs at the Anthony Robinson Gym in Red River Athletic Conference play. LSUS now trails OLLU in the regular season standings by a game with OLLU's 102-67 trouncing over Texas Wesleyan. The title hopes are still alive for the Pilots with two games to play as LSUS plays at Wiley on Thursday and then hosts Texas College on Monday to close out the regular season while OLLU still has meeting with Langston and Jarvis. Langston has won four games in a row and lost by only 13 to OLLU earlier in the season.

Jarvis led for the first two and a half minutes until the Pilots got the offense going and once they did it was hard to stop as they took the lead on a Derrick Parker two-point basket with 17:42 to play in the first half and would never trail again.

Parker's bucket sparked a 14-4 run that expanded the LSUS' lead to 12 after a rainmaker from Jake Greene to end the run with a 20-8 lead for the Pilots with 13:18 to play in the half. Jarvis would bounce back and get as close as two points until the offense could build another double digit lead reaching 12 with just inside a minute to play in the half after a pair of free-throws from Cody Walker. The Bulldogs (9-18, 8-14 RRAC) trimmed the LSUS lead down to single digits only once as the Pilots took offense and dominated the rest of the way putting together a 20-2 run to build a 27-point cushion just one-point shy of their largest lead of the night of 28 points which came a few minutes later for a 67-39 lead with eight minutes to play.

Parker led all scorers and claimed his usual double-double with 26 points and 12 rebounds while Shyne poured in 25 points.

The three-point line was busy for the Pilots as they drained five of 12 attempts from beyond the arc with Jake Greene making three of six to finish with nine points while Shyne was two for five.

LSUS tamed the free-throw line as well making 14 of 17 while three shooters never missed: Shyne led the way making all five while Walker made four to finish with eight points and Isiah Bazile made two.

Bazile was another double digit rebounder for the visitors pulling down a dozen defensive rebounds to claim 16 total boards. The Pilots dominated the boards 46-34.

SAGU Snaps Pilots Win Streak

FEBRUARY 18, 2012

SHREVEPORT, La. - The no. 19 LSU Shreveport men's basketball team had their NAIA leading 11-game win streak snapped on Saturday night at the Shaffer Center by the Southwestern Assemblies of God University Lions 64-59.

The SAGU Lions (20-7, 14-7 RRAC) jumped out to a 17-7 lead after the first six minutes of the contest but the Pilots would rally their way back through the half in route to a Rydell Harris buzzer-beater to lift the Pilots to a 30-28 halftime lead, his only bucket of the contest.

SAGU did not waste any time as they got off to a hot start in the second half with a 9-0 run to take the lead but the run was stymied by a Mark Politte layup, the first LSUS bucket of the second half, to bring the Pilots with in five with 16:28 to play. Politte finished with nine points.

The Pilots (19-7, 17-4 RRAC) continued to battle their way back and evened the score with SAGU at the midway point of the half at 41. SAGU kept pace with the 19th ranked Pilots and had a two-point lead that grew after the Lions converted on a pair of technical free throws and the one of the double-bonus shots from the charity stripe. LSUS' Isiah Bazile was charged with a technical-foul following a foul call against him as the Pilots never could recover going down by five with 1:06 to play after the three of four were converted from the free-throw line.

Politte drained a big three as the Pilots attempted to crawl their way back with 42 second to play and later Greg Shyne drained a rainmaker with a game-high 18 points to trim the SAGU lead down to 61-50 with 15 seconds to go in regulation. The Lions would go on to make three more free-throws before the end of the game to stop the LSUS comeback. Derrick Parker scored 10 points before fouling out late in the second half while Bazile had a 11-point, 10-rebound performance before fouling out as well. By then though, the Pilots needed the three-point shooters on the floor who nearly brought them back into the contest.

The Pilots out rebounded the Lions 37-30 but committed four more turnovers 18-14. The Lions were fierce from the free- throw line in the second half converting on 20 of 25 while the Pilots were a slim four of 13 from the line.

LSUS shot just 37% from the field and the Lions were not much better at 40%. The LSUS defense held Dominique Rambo to just seven points while only allowing SAGU to have two shooter reach double figures; Ronald Horne (17) and Mike Nwelue had 13 off the bench.

The loss does not end the Pilots chances at still obtaining the regular season crown; it just makes the hill a lot steeper to climb. LSUS now trails the OLLU Saints by one game in the standings while Texas Wesleyan trails by a game and a half. It is still anybody's race with the top three teams separated by a game and a half. The Saints and Rams will meet on Monday night in Fort Worth.

The Pilots will travel to Hawkins, Texas, to play Jarvis Christian on Monday for their next game at 7:30.

Watch Tonight's Men's Basketball Games Live on the Internet

FEBRUARY 18, 2012

WAXAHACHIE, Tex. - Tonight's men's game can be seen live on the internet as the LSUS teams will take on Southwestern Assemblies of God University with the women beginning at 5:30 and the men to follow at 7:30. Go to www.sagu.edu and click on Watch SAGUtv on the home page.

The no. 19 Pilots have must win out to determine their hopes of the obtaining the RRAc regular season title for the first time. The Pilots are currently 19-6 and 17-3 in the RRAC. They hold the longest winning streak in the NAIA at 11 games.

The SAGU Lions (19-7, 13-7 RRAC) received votes in the most recent top 25 poll and have a spot in this year's RRAC Tournament which they host. They are currently 5th in the standings and have won two of their last three games.

The Pilots won the first meeting of the year 83-69 at The Dock.

Parker Headlines The Times Sports Section

FEBRUARY 17, 2012

SHREVEPORT, La. - Derrick Parker has always been a front-page performer and he got the story he deserves in the Sports Section of the Shreveport Times. Parker will finished his career at LSUS as the all-time leading rebounder, shot blocker, and second in scoring and hopefully a national championship.

To view the complete story by The Times sports reporter Jason Pugh, click here.

Pilots Defeat St. Thomas And Remain Tied At First In RRAC

FEBRUARY 16, 2012

SHREVEPORT, La. - The LSU Shreveport Pilots men's basketball team extended the NAIA's longest active winning streak to 11 by defeating RRAC opponent St. Thomas (Houston, Texas) 65 - 61. Last night's victory at The Dock was the second time the Pilots were victorious over the Celts by four points. The win keeps the Pilots hopes of a Regular Season Championship alive and keeps them in a three-way tie for the lead with Texas Wesleyan University and Our Lady of the Lake University. Those two teams are set to play in Ft. Worth on Monday night. LSUS (19-6, 17-3 RRAC) led for most of the first half but St. Thomas gathered momentum with a three-pointer at the buzzer by Jeremy Lewis to trim the LSUS' lead to just one at the break, 33-32.

The Celts (16-10, 14-6 RRAC) came out strong in the second half as they gained and held the lead for the first eight minutes but never led by more than five points as the Pilots kept it close. LSUS regained the lead for good following a long three-pointer by Mark Politte to give the Pilots a 51-49 lead as he finished with eight points.

Derrick Parker, who scored his usual double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds, converted on a three-point play with 5:30 to play in the game to give the Pilots a 56-52 lead. The next four minutes the Pilots outscored the Celts 5-2 until Greg Shyne scored three of his game-high 19 points as he completed a three-point play much like Parkers just four minutes earlier. This gave LSUS a 61-54 lead with 1:45 to play.

Rydell Harris was fouled on a put back attempt with as he made the back end of a pair from the charity stripe to increase the lead for LSUS by three, 62-59. UST missed a three and Cody Walker grabbed the rebound for the Pilots and was fouled as he made both from the line to give the Pilots a five point lead with 14 seconds to play. The visitors took one final shot but it was rejected by Parker who finished with three to end the game for a big win for the Pilots as they are propelled to the top of the RRAC standings tied with Our Lady of the Lake. Rydell Harris did a great job off the bench for the Pilots with 23 minutes of action scoring six points and pulling down seven rebounds.

The race for the regular season title has gotten a lot more interesting than people thought just a couple of weeks ago. The league leader for the majority of the season has been the Saints from OLLU. The Pilots gave them their first conference loss on January 30, 2012, and they have now dropped two more games consecutively. The steady play of Texas Wesleyan has kept them in the mix as well. There is a lot of basketball to be played for each team that is tied for the lead in the RRAC. Again, the two teams the Pilots are tied with at the moment (OLLU and TWU) are set to play Monday night in Ft. Worth.

The Pilots will be in action again this Saturday night. They will travel to Waxahachie, Texas, to play the SAGU Lions. Tip- off is set for 7:30 p.m.

The LSUS defense did a great job at containing one of the better three-point shooting teams in the NAIA as the Celts made just six in 17 tries.

The final home game of the season (Senior Night) will be on Monday, Feb. 27, at 7:30 against Texas College.

Pilots battle hard for big RRAC Win

FEBRUARY 15, 2012

SHREVEPORT, La. - The LSU Shreveport Pilots men's basketball team picked up their second four-point win over the Saint Thomas Celts with a 65-61 win at The Dock on Wednesday night. LSUS (19-6, 17-3 RRAC) led for most of the first half but St. Thomas gathered momentum with a three-pointer at the buzzer by Jeremy Lewis to trim the LSUS' lead to just one at the break, 33-32.

St. Thomas was not done yet though as they followed with a three-point play of their own to cut the LSUS' lead back to four five seconds later. With just under a minute to play the Celts made a layup to make it a one possession game with the score at 61-59. Rydell Harris was fouled on a put back attempt with as he made the back end of a pair from the charity stripe to increase the lead for LSUS by three, 62-59. UST missed a three and Cody Walker grabbed the rebound for the Pilots and was fouled as he made both from the line to give the Pilots a five point lead with 14 seconds to play.

The visitors took one final shot but it was rejected by Parker who finished with three to end the game for a big win for the Pilots as they are propelled to the top of the RRAC standings tied with Our Lady of the Lake. Rydell Harris did a great job off the bench for the Pilots with 23 minutes of action scoring six points and pulling down seven rebounds.

The Pilots continued their winning ways with their 11th straight win including 16 of their last 17. Meanwhile the OLLU Saints have lost two games in a row. The Pilots could claim the regular season conference title if they win out and OLLU loses one.

The LSUS defense did a great job at containing one of the better three-point shooting teams in the NAIA as the Celts made just six in 17 tries.

The next game for the Pilots will begin a three-game road trip before returning to The Dock for the final time this season. LSUS will meet SAGU in Waxahachie, Texas, at 7:30 this Saturday, Feb.18. The next home game will be on Monday, Feb. 27, at 7:30 against Texas College.

Shyne claims LSWA POW Honors

FEBRUARY 13, 2012

BATON ROUGE -- The 18th ranked team in NAIA, LSU Shreveport, has the winner of this week's Louisiana Sports Writers Association Men's Basketball Player of the Week, Greg Shyne. Shyne, a 6-foot senior guard from Minden, La., led the Pilots to a perfect 2-0 week as he poured in 21 points with five assists and one steal in the 74-45 win over Langston while scoring a season-high 30 points in a 87-71 win over Southwest in a game where he grabbed eight rebounds.

He finished the week making 19 of 32 from the field, five of nine from downtown, and eight of 10 from the charity stripe.

Pilots handle Southwest

FEBRUARY 12, 2012

HOBBS, N. M. - Greg Shyne and Derrick Parker combined for 54 of the Pilots' points on Saturday night leading their team to an 87-71 win over the Southwest Mustangs on Saturday night. The win stretches the LSUS Pilots' winning streak to 10 games in a span where they have won 14 of their last 15. Shyne led all scorers finishing with 30 points as his 17-point first half performance led the Pilots to a seven-point lead at the half with the Pilots shooting 53% from the field. Shyne finished the game 11 for 17 from the field, three of four from beyond the arc and five of six from the charity stripe.

Parker turned in his 17th double-double of the season with 24 points and 11 rebounds. Parker dominated underneath making 10 of 16 from the field and four of six attempts from the free-throw line. Cody Walker was the final shooter in double digits for the Pilots as he finished with 10 points after a perfect two of two performance from downtown and four of five from the field.

LSUS (18-6, 16-3) shot an incredible 77% from the three-point line making seven out of nine attempts to help them finished at 64% from the field for the game while Southwest (8-16, 5-15 RRAC) shot 44% overall and only 29% from beyond the arc making seven of 24.

Parker's 11 rebounds led all rebounders as his Pilots gathered a total of 37 compared to the Mustangs 26 boards. Southwest had four scorers in double figures: Demetrius Evans had 14 points, Hector Aguilar had 12, Ullyses Robinson 11 and Michael Darden 10.

LSUS took the lead for good when Shyne made a pair of free-throws with 14:15 to play in the first half that started a 7-0 run for the Pilots that was capped off by a Shyne rainmaker from downtown to extend the LSUS' lead to 22-14 with 12:20 to go in the half.

The Pilots look to extend their winning streak again on Wednesday night against St. Thomas at The Dock with the tip-off coming at 7 p.m. as the Pilots celebrate homecoming 2012. LSUS won their earlier meeting this year 69-65 in Houston.

Pilots thump Langston for ninth straight win after soaring into Top 25

FEBRUARY 06, 2012

LANGSTON, Okla. - The LSU Shreveport Pilots men's basketball team took over the C. F. Gayles' Fieldhouse on Monday night for a 74-45 victory over the Langston Lions in Red River Athletic Conference play. The Pilots have won nine in a row and 14 of their last 15 games leading them to a no. 18 ranking in the NAIA Top 25 poll that was released by the national office just before tonight's game.

Greg Shyne made a pair of free-throws to start the scoring and the Pilots never looked back as they never trailed in the contest. LSUS (17-6, 15-3 RRAC) shot the ball well in the first half hitting 57% from the field as they took a 17-point lead in the locker room at the half. Shyne's free-throws to start the game was just the beginning of what he would do as he finished with 21 points to lead all scorers while Aubin Young (15) and Derrick Parker (12) also finished with double-figures. Parker's dozen points helped the Pilots to outscore the Lions 34-20 in the paint.

Langston (5-18, 5-13 RRAC) had a tough time getting off good shots as the Pilots defense held them to 32% from the field in a game where they only had one reach double figures as Charles Tucker had 14 points off the bench.

The home team tried to keep pace with the Pilots via the three-point line but they came up short making only three, all in the first half, of 21 total attempts while LSUS tossed up 10 of their own in the first half, making four, but slowing things down in the second half going 0-4 from downtown.

The Pilots will next meet the Southwest Mustangs this Saturday, Feb. 11, as they make the long haul to Hobbs, New Mexico, for an 8:30 p.m. CDT start. The Pilots were 99-72 winners when these two teams met earlier in the season at The Dock.

Pilots cruise past Bacone for eight straight win

FEBRUARY 04, 2012

MUSKOGEE, Okla. - The LSU Shreveport Pilots dominated the Bacone Warrior Saturday afternoon with a 79-64 victory to pick up their eighth straight win. The Pilots are one of the hottest teams in the Red River Athletic Conference being winners in 13 of their last 14 contests. LSUS (16-6, 14-3 RRAC) remains in second place in the conference race a game and half behind Our Lady of the Lake. The Pilots blazed the nets for 53% from the field while Greg Shyne made eight of 11 from the field as he led the visitors in scoring with 21 points going eight of 11 from the field while Derrick Parker turned in his 16th double-double of the season with 20 points and 10 rebounds. Rydell Harris drained five of seven from the field and had a dozen points making five of seven from the field while Mark Politte finished with 11 points.

The Pilots attacked the three-point line making eight of 15 for 53% from beyond the arc as Shyne led the way with a perfect four for four performance while Politte helped out making three of four from downtown.

LSUS out dueled the home team on the boards collecting 40 rebounds while Bacone snagged 27. Harris pulled down nine behind Parker's game-high of 10.

La'Charleston Tumblin had the game-high 22 points while James Scott represented the only other double figure scorer for Bacone with 11 points.

Bacone (3-18, 2-14 RRAC) now losers of four straight, trail Jarvis by five games for the 8th spot in the standings which is the last team that will qualify for the RRAC Tournament. The next game for the Pilots will be Monday night at 7:30 p.m. at Langston University. The Pilots picked up a 74-67 win over the Lions earlier in the season at The Dock.

Pilots pick up Seventh Straight Win

FEBRUARY 02, 2012

DALLAS, Tex. - Derrick Parker led the LSU Shreveport men's basketball team with his 15th double-double of the season with 19 points and 15 rebounds as his team defeated the Paul Quinn Tigers on Thursday night 65-52 for their seventh straight win. LSUS has now won 12 of their last 13 games. LSUS (15-6, 13-3 RRAC) took a little time before the offense turned on the jets in the first half as PQC led by seven 15-8 with 10:32 to play in the half but then the offense started to click. The Pilots then went on a 14-0 run to take a 22-8 lead with 5:32 remaining in the first half as Mark Politte blazed the nets with a pair of three-pointers and free-throws with a total of eight points in the run.

The Pilots tacked on a 9-0 run before the end of the half for their largest lead of 13-points as Greg Shyne had seven of the run's points with 1:57 to go.

PQC (6-15, 5-10 RRAC) shot just 33% from the field in the first half and wasn't much better in the second half at 36% while the Pilots shot 44% in the first and 48% in the second half. LSUS increased their lead to their largest lead of the contest at 27-points with 5:46 to play following a Shyne two-point bucket.

Derrick Parker edged Shyne with the game-high 19 points while Shyne had 18 points. Politte rounded out the double figure scorers for the Pilots with 14 points. Aubin Young missed the double figures list by one finishing with nine points after a four of five from the field.

Both teams launched plenty from downtown as the Pilots made six of 21 from beyond the arc while the home team made five of 21.

The next game for the Pilots will be this Saturday in Muskogee, Oklahoma, for a 4 p.m. tip-off against the Bacone Warriors (3-17, 2-13 RRAC). The Pilots blew out the Warriors at The Dock 104-69 earlier this season. Heading into Saturday's matchup in Oklahoma, the Warriors have lost three games in a row including 15 of their last 16.

Pilots take down no. 5 Our Lady of the Lake

JANUARY 30, 2012

SHREVEPORT, La. - The LSU Shreveport Pilots men's basketball team did not disappoint the standing room only crowd at The Dock on Monday night as they defeated the no. 5 Our Lady of the Lake Saints by a final score of 83-74 snapping a 15-game win streak for the Saints and increasing their own streak to six straight. LSUS (13-6, 11-3 RRAC) picked up their first win against the Saints in their fifth try as they finished with four scorers in double figures in a game that had plenty of fouls, free-throws, and three-point attempts. Greg Shyne led the way with 26 points while Aubin Young tossed in 16, Derrick Parker 12 and Cody Walker 11.

Shyne had an impressive performance draining 13 of 16 from the charity stripe including four technical free-throws that saw the ejection of the Our Lady of the Lake head coach for arguing with the officials with 3:16 to play in the first half after he had been warned just three minutes into the game. Shyne was six of eight from the field while Young was six of nine as Walker was a perfect four for four from the field.

Parker led the way for the Pilots defensively with five blocks in 35 minutes.

The Pilots struggled against the aggressive defense from the visitors as they turned the ball over 28 times but OLLU could only get 14 points off the turnovers thanks to their three-point shooters having an off night as they came into the game 1st in the NAIA in three's made per game, scoring offense per game and three's made per game. The Saints made just 10 out of 39 attempts while the Pilots pulled down 29 defensive rebounds.

The LSUS defense is to be applauded for the errand shots as they had a hand in the face of the shooter on nearly every attempt as well as forcing 20 turnovers as the offense scored 15 points off the takeaways. The Pilots did what they had to from the field, scoring 36 points in the paint, and made enough free throws (30) to pick up the win against one of the top five teams in the country.

For the second game in a row the LSUS' defense has held down a top-notch offensive team.

OLLU (17-4, 14-1 RRAC) still lead in the RRAC regular season standings but now only two games separate them and the Pilots. The Saints finished with three scorers in double figures as Josh Orta and Robert Martinez led the team with 17 while LoRon Smith had a dozen points.

The Pilots will now go on a four-game road trip with the first of four in Dallas this Thursday at 7 p.m. against Paul Quinn College. The next game at The Dock will be Wednesday, Feb. 15, against St. Thomas at 7 p.m.

Pilots take down Texas Wesleyan

JANUARY 28, 2012

FORT WORTH, Tex. - The LSU Shreveport Pilots went into the Sid Richardson Center on Saturday afternoon to payback the no. 11 Texas Wesleyan Rams, who won the first meeting of the season at The Dock in triple overtime, and did just that. The Pilots left as the winners 61-57. "We are super proud of and proud for our Pilots. Great determination, effort, and composure was the formula for a successful afternoon for our Pilots," said LSUS head coach Chad McDowell. The Pilots are one of the hottest teams in the Red River Athletic Conference as they have now won 10 of their last 11 games including five in a row. Only Our Lady of the Lake is ahead of them now in the standings as the Pilots are now in the second spot in the regular season standings holding the tie breaker over Texas Wesleyan for second should it come down to the tie breaker.

The Pilots lead grew to as much as 13 points in the second half only to be dwindled down bit by bit by the hometown Rams. Texas Wesleyan managed to get as close as a point to the Pilots but strong defense by the Pilots forced the Rams to miss shots and make mistakes when the stakes were at the highest.

Derrick Parker made the front end of double bonus free-throws to put LSUS up by two with 37 seconds to play. The Rams would miss fire on a three-pointer and a layup as possession remained with the home team, Ronnie Moss dribbled to the far corner with the Pilots' Greg Shyne in his face obstructing his view and forcing him to throw the ball out of bounds for the turnover. The inbound pass found Shyne who was fouled and made both from the charity stripe to seal the deal with 2.2 seconds to play.

"I am especially proud for our seniors who will remember their last visit to Texas Wesleyan as a victorious night," said McDowell as the seniors made up four of the five starting positions on Saturday. Parker led the way with his 14th double- double of the season with the game-highs of 20 points, 10 rebounds and four blocks while Shyne added nine points. Aubin Young added eight points, three assists and pulled down nine key rebounds while Cody Walker finished with five points, three rebounds and three assists.

Junior, Isiah Bazile was the other starter and the only other Pilot in double figures other than Parker as the point guard netted 11 points and led the team with four assists. Mark Politte added six points while Rydell Harris was a key rebounder with six boards and two points.

The Rams had four scorers finish with double figures: Eric Frederick (17), Ronnie Moss (13), Oscar Griffin (13), and Stephane Mudiay (10). The Pilots defense did a tremendous job containing two of the top scorers in the NAIA in Frederick and Moss. Frederick coming into the contest averaged 25.9 points per game while Moss was the no. 3 three-point shooter in the country averaging 3.4 three's made per game and 23.8 points per game. Moss did manage three from downtown but not much after that. Seven of Moss' 13 points came on a run late in the first half as the Pilots double-teamed him in the second half only allowing him just six points as well as Frederick only scoring six points in the second half.

The Rams went on an 8-0 run over a span of six minutes in the first half as the Pilots went without a bucket since Isiah Bazile nailed a jumper with 16:02 left to give the Pilots' their largest lead of the half 11-3. Bazile got the Pilots back in the scoring column with another two-point jumper with 8:41 to play to regain the LSUS' lead to 13-11. But the Pilots maintained their lead to have a three-point advantage at the half, 31-28.

McDowell was extremely please on how the day went for the LSUS basketball program, "What a great trip all the way around. How can you beat a trip like this? Our Lady Pilots make an incredible comeback and earned a huge victory in overtime. Next, our Pilots gave a valiant effort and earned a huge road victory." The win was a good for Coach McDowell but another thing helped make this road trip one of the better ones of his career, "The best thing about the trip is that my son Martin made his first road trip with the team. He turns nine on Tuesday and his mom thought it would be a great present to let him bring a friend (Blaine Funderburk) and be part of the team!"

This win will definitely stick in the back of the mind of the soon-to-be nine year old as he was near the end of the Pilot's bench for the entire game cheering when things went right and showing his disgust when things did not go so well. He also helped the LSUS Athletic Trainer, Lance Champange, hand out towels throughout the contest.

Coach McDowell stated that Martin was not the only one of the McDowell family who was excited when the final buzzer sounded, "It got better after the game; getting a text message from my wife, Jenn, stating that her and our oldest daughter, Molly, were screaming so loud throughout the game, the neighbors could hear them."

The next game for the Pilots will be one of the final three home games remaining. Monday night at The Dock the Pilots will take on the RRAC leading and no. 7 Our Lady of the Lake Saints at 7:30 p.m.

Watch the Pilots versus Texas Wesleyan on the internet

JANUARY 27, 2012

FORT WORTH, Tex. - Saturday's Red River Athletic Conference game will feature the LSU Shreveport Pilots and the Texas Wesleyan Rams which can be viewed on the World Wide Web free of charge. The two teams are within a game and a half of each other in the RRAC standings. The Pilots (12-6, 10-3 RRAC) are currently three games back of conference-leader Our Lady of the Lake needing to win on Saturday to still have a chance at the conference regular season title while the Rams (15-3, 10-2 RRAC) also need a win to stay alive for the title race but a loss on Saturday would not hurt them as bad as it would the Pilots as they are 2.5 games back of OLLU.

Saturday's game will not decide the conference champion but it will definitely be one to remember as it always is when these two teams meet. Texas Wesleyan needed triple overtime earlier this season to defeat the Pilots 79-73.

To watch Saturday's game live at 4:00 p.m. click here.

Pilots take down Wiley

JANUARY 26, 2012

SHREVEPORT, La. - The LSU Shreveport Pilots men's basketball team won their fourth consecutive game at Thursday night at The Dock as the abundant crowd cheered their home team on to a 67-56 win over the Wiley College Wildcats in Red River Athletic Conference play.

LSUS (12-6, 10-3 RRAC) will remain in the top three in the conference regular season standings after the win over a very tough Wiley squad. The crowd sent electrifying cheers to the rafters early in the contest when Isiah Bazile missed a rare three-point attempt as Greg Shyne grabbed the rebound and slammed it home before returning to the floor.

Greg Shyne led the Pilots in scoring once again after a five of 10 performance from the field and six of seven from the charity stripe to finish with 16 points while Derrick Parker tossed in 14. Aubin Young hit some amazing shots throughout the contest to finish with 13 points while Mark Politte chipped in with 10 off the bench.

Parker and Shyne led the Pilots on the boards each grabbing eight rebounds while Rydell Harris snagged six. Young and Bazile each pulled down five.

The Pilots led by as much as 16 in the first half as they took a 14-point lead into the locker room at the break. LSUS shot 54% from the field next to Wiley's 35% who made just two in 11 tries from beyond the arc.

The second half saw the Wildcats (11-6, 7-5 RRAC) make a few more from downtown but also miss more as they made five in 17 attempts as they tried to use the three-point line to overtake the Pilots. They managed to trim the Pilot's lead down to single digits a few times in the second half but only got as close as seven as they outscored the home team 30- 27 in the second half.

The contest was fairly even throughout other than the final score as both teams turned the ball over 14 times, the Pilots did just three times in the second half after a rough first half with 11. The Pilots' defense came away with seven steals while the visitors stole six and cleaned the glass for 42 boards thanks to 22 offensive rebounds while the Pilots grabbed 41 total.

The Pilots will now travel to Fort Worth to take on the Texas Wesleyan Rams on Saturday, Jan. 28, at 4:00 p.m. Texas Wesleyan needed triple overtime to defeat the Pilots 79-73 in the first meeting of the year. The next game at The Dock will be on Monday, Jan. 30, at 7:30 p.m. as the Pilots welcome the conference-leading Our Lady of the Lake Saints.

Pilots Crush Rams

JANUARY 23, 2012

SHREVEPORT, La. - Greg Shyne led the Pilots in scoring again with 23 points, most of which came in the second half, as the Pilots dominated the second half for a 90-60 win over the Huston-Tillotson Rams on Monday night at The Dock.

Shyne made just a pair of points in the first half blazed the nets in the second half making three of six from beyond the arc to lead the Pilots to their third straight win. LSUS (11-6, 9-3 RRAC) started to pull away from the Rams early in the second half as they trailed by two 44-42. The Pilots posted a 13-2 in which Shyne counted for five of the 13 points and Parker had four to give the Pilots an 11-point advantage 55-46 with 14 minutes to go.

The home team outscored the visitors the rest of the way 35-14 for the blowout win.

In addition to Shyne the Pilots had three more reach double figures as Derrick Parker turned in his 13th double-double on the season with 17 points and 11 rebounds including six blocks while Mark Politte tossed in a dozen points off the bench. Aubin Young scored 10 points and pulled down six boards as the Pilots won the battle on the glass 51-43. Cody Walker and Isiah Bazile each had seven points.

The crowd was not disappointed late in the game as they were treated to some long threes and strong play underneath. Jayce Barnum was tough on the boards and collected five rebounds and scored two points in just four minutes while Jake Greene and Chris Mitchell both hit long shots from beyond the arc. Rydell Harris saw 17 minutes of action and scored five points and pulled down nine rebounds, the most by any player off the bench.

HTU (0-18, 0-14 RRAC) have now lost 21 straight games dating back to last year but they gave a valiant effort especially with their strong play in the first half. But the fouls took a toll on them in the second half as they saw two players foul out as the Pilots wore them down. Lance Richardson turned in the only double-double for the visitors with 17 points and the game-high 16 rebounds while Ronzelle Fort and Charles Jones each scored 14 points. Justin King had 10.

The Pilots had the upper hand at the charity stripe in a game that saw a total of 51 free-throws shot between the two teams with LSUS making 76% while the Rams made 66%.

LSUS led by as much as 10 in the first half but found themselves down by one at the half as the Rams mounted a comeback to take lead in a half in which each team gained the lead three times. The Rams lead only got to as much as four. The Pilots led 35-25 with three minutes to go in the first half until HTU went on a 14-3 run to end the half.

The next game for the Pilots will be this Thursday, Jan. 26, at The Dock against the Wiley Wildcats in their first meeting of the season.

Parker Leads Pilots Past Paul Quinn

JANUARY 21, 2012

SHREVEPORT, La. - When the basketball is in Derrick Parker's hands usually good things happen; and that was certainly the case Saturday night at The Dock as he recorded a triple-double as the Pilots routed the Paul Quinn Tigers 79-59 in Red River Athletic Conference play.

Parker set a new single-game LSUS record for most blocks in a game as he finished with 10 and gathered as many rebounds to accompany 16 points. He neared the record early with seven first-half blocks, six of which came in the first seven minutes of the game.

The previous record of nine had been reached twice in the previous years as Jamon Morris did it back in 2007 equaling the performance of Derrick Hill from 2004. As a team the Pilots also topped their old mark of 12 blocks, which was accomplished against ETBU back in 2004, with 13 tonight as Isiah Bazile had two and Greg Shyne one in addition to Parker's record setting night.

LSUS (10-6, 8-3 RRAC) picked up their seventh win in their last eight games to make it two straight.

The Pilots started the game off hot taking advantage of a struggling Paul Quinn who couldn't buy a bucket. LSUS scored the game's first nine points as they started with a 21-3 run in the first nine minutes to take a commanding lead. The only three points scored during the run for the visitors came on a possession in which Parker rejected two consecutive shots and then a three pointer was hit by Marquest Watson who gathered the wild rebound.

Parker's two point jumper with 14:11 to play in the first half gave the Pilots a double-digit lead for good as they led by as much as 22 in the first half and as much as 24 in the second. The Pilots shot 52% from the floor as they saw scoring from 10 different players.

Greg Shyne led all scorers with 21 quite points as his effort was overshadowed by the hype of Parker's chase at history. Shyne was three of four from downtown and overall nine of 14 from the field.

Paul Quinn (4-12, 3-8 RRAC) had only one in double figures as Reginald Hill led the team with 15 points off the bench as the Tigers bench outscored their starters 33-26.

The Pilots took the edge on the boards collecting 40 compared to 37 for the Tigers who gathered 16 offensive rebounds.

Cody Walker had a game-high seven assists while Parker had five and Isiah Bazile four.

The next contest for the Pilots will be on Monday, Jan. 23, at The Dock as they take on Huston-Tillotson at 7:30 p.m. The Pilots took the first game 73-55 earlier this season in Austin.

Pilots take down SAGU

JANUARY 16, 2012

SHREVEPORT, La. - The LSU Shreveport Pilots made 20 second-half free throws on the way to a 83-69 win over the SAGU Lions in Red River Athletic Conference play on Thursday night at The Dock on the eve of the spring semester.

LSUS (9-6, 7-3 RRAC) had to fight hard to maintain a double-digit lead in the second half as the young and pesky Lions would not go away. SAGU (12-4, 6-4 RRAC) started a handful of youth giving the nod to three freshmen and two sophomores. The Pilots managed to keep the lead in their favor for most of the night as the lead got as much as 17 which came earlier in the contest.

The Pilots cooled off slightly from downtown in the second half with no need to shoot from that far with the lead they had as they only made one of five after a four of seven performance in the first half. Their shooting percentage took a hit in the second half as they made just 40% from the field to finish at 57% for the game.

The home team finished with five shooters topping the double-digit mark with Greg Shyne leading the way with 23 while Derrick Parker tossed in 14. Aubin Young and Isiah Bazile each had a dozen points while Mark Politte finished with 10. Bazile led the team with six assists.

The charity stripe was a busy place at The Dock as the Pilots converted on 70% of their attempts making 24 of 34 with four players making all of their attempts and one missing just one. Bazile led the way with six while Shyne converted on five and Cody Walker had four.

Turnovers did not play a factor in the game as each team turned the ball over 15 times while the Pilots won the rebounding battle 33-27 with Parker gabbing nine and Bazile six.

The Lions stayed in the game in the second half thanks to 10 offensive rebounds as they shot just 36% from the field. They finished with just three in double figures as Dominique Rambo nailed 16 points while Craig Grigsby had 13. Christian Wood-Dvorak had 10.

LSUS had one of their better halves of shooting this season in the first half of play making 70% from the field including four big three pointers; two from Shyne and one each from Greene and Politte. The Pilots held as big as 17-point lead with 4:12 to play in the half only to have it dwindled down to six by the visitors at the sound of the horn as the Lions nailed five three's in the last minutes of the first half to make a game of it as they shot 57% from the floor.

The next game for the Pilots will be Saturday, Jan. 20, at The Dock against Paul Quinn at 7:00 p.m.

Turnovers and Free Throws doom Pilots

JANUARY 14, 2012

TYLER, Tex. - The LSU Shreveport Pilots allowed 20 points off turnovers on Saturday afternoon at the Gus F. Taylor Gymnasium as the Texas College Steers took the Red River Athletic Conference contest 75-68.

LSUS (8-6, 6-3 RRAC) shot 51% from the field in the second half as they battled the Steers to a 38-38 tie but it was not enough to overcome their seven-point deficit at the half snapping their five-game winning streak. The Pilots were not able to make the necessary free-throws as they made just eight of 11 in the second half after a four of eight performance in the first half to finish at 63% from the charity stripe. The three-point line was not kind to the visitors either as the Pilots made only two in eight tries.

Texas College (8-8, 4-6 RRAC) had the first half saved and perhaps the game in the first half as they made 12 of 15 from the free-throw line to overcome poor shooting from the field as they shot just 28%. The shooting got better as the night went on for the Steers as they made good on 53% from the field in the second half as well as seven of nine from the charity stripe.

LSUS lost the turnover battle 22-16 and were out rebounded 37-32. The Pilots finished with three in double figures as Greg Shyne led the team with 16 while Derrick Parker had 15 and Mark Politte 11. Parker was the top rebounder with nine.

The Steers had three of their own with double digit points as Jamal Robertson had the game high 22 points while LaDarren Williams had 18 and Hamid Ford 12. Jhirmetrius Cochran was the game's only double digit rebounder with 13.

The Pilots look to rebound on Monday night at the Dock against a tough SAGU Lions team with the tip scheduled for 7:30 p.m.

Pilots Outlast Bulldogs for Fifth Straight Win

JANUARY 12, 2012

SHREVEPORT, La. - The LSU Shreveport Pilots could breathe easier once the buzzer sounded at the end of Thursday's tough 92-83 win over the Jarvis Christian College Bulldogs at The Dock as there was plenty of scoring as both teams shot over 40% from the field.

The Pilots landed four scorers in double figures as the high-flying Greg Shyne led all scorers with 26 points after 17 in the opening half. Shyne had the basketball underneath the goal for an easy layup with less than three minutes to go and saw Derrick Parker on the way and held it for him as he passed off to him as D.P. slammed it home to energize the crowd as Parker turned in his 11th double-double of the season with 22 points and 12 rebounds. He has now had a double-double in all but two games this season.

Aubin Young was dominate on the floor in just 22 minutes of action as he came away with three steals and finished with 12 points. He came away with a steal at with 11 minutes to go and passed to Micah Jordan who sank the jumper to give the Pilots back a double-digit lead. Nearly two minutes later Mark Politte and Jacoby Marshall teamed up to come away with a steal and then it was passed to Young who took it to the basket for the lay in and a 17-point lead which was three points shy of their largest of the night.

Cody Walker had the ball knocked away with 8:36 to play but he hustled after it and got the ball to Young who hit the jumper to keep the LSUS lead at 16. Mark Politte made some noise off the bench as he tossed in 12 points including three of seven from the field as he helped the Pilots gain the double-digit lead in the second half.

The Pilots battled their way back after surrendering the game's first five points as Derrick Parker came away with a steal and a layup to cap off an 11-0 run to boost the Pilots early on as they took a 14-7 lead and never looked back although the visitors did not make it easy as they trimmed the once double-digit lead to eight at the break. The Pilots shot 50% from the floor while the visitors made 41% in the first half.

LSUS edged the visitors 47-42 on the boards as Parker led the charge and Politte pulled down seven. The second half had the Pilots by one as they shot 48% while the Bulldogs made 45%.

Jarvis (4-9, 3-6 RRAC) had an impressive six different shooter reach double figures; Maurese Jackson led the way with a double-double with 15 points and one less rebound while Carlton Dean had a baker's dozen. Cedrick Richardson and Trammaine Simmons each tossed in 12 points while Marcus O'Key finished with 11.

The next game for the Pilots will be at Texas College on Saturday for a 4 p.m. tip and the next game at The Dock will be on Monday against SAGU at 7:30 p.m.

Parker claims share of RRAC POW award

JANUARY 09, 2012

WACO, Tex. - Derrick Parker of LSU Shreveport and Josh Orta of Our Lady of the Lake University (Texas) grabbed a share of the Red River Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Week award for performances during the dates of Jan. 2-8.

Parker, a senior forward from Minden, La., posted two double-double efforts as the Pilots won a pair of games last week. He scored 29 points and pulled down 19 rebounds in a 99-72 win over University of the Southwest (N.M.), and he reached matching totals of 16 points and 16 boards in a 69-65 squeaker over the University of St. Thomas (Texas). Parker made 18-of-35 shots from the field and 9-of-11 from the free throw line. LSUS climbed to 5-2 in the RRAC and 7-5 overall. Orta, a junior guard from San Antonio, Texas, recorded an unconventional triple-double to lead the Saints to a 116-77 win over Texas College in their only game of the week. He finished with 18 points, 10 assists and 11 steals, falling two shy of the NAIA record for steals in a game. He connected on 7-of-14 field goal attempts and 4-of-5 free throws. Orta ranks third in the nation in total steals with 44 (3.39 per game). OLLU, ranked #23 in the NAIA, remains unbeaten in conference play at 7-0 with a 10-3 mark on the season.

Demetrius Evans of USW, Kenny La Guerre of Wiley College (Texas), Ronnie Moss of Texas Wesleyan University, and Jamal Robertson of TXC were additional nominees.

-RRAC-

Pilots come from behind to defeat St. Thomas

JANUARY 07, 2012

HOUSTON, Tex. - Saying the Pilots got off to slow start this afternoon would be a major understatement. However, their poor shooting percentage (36%) and turnovers in the first half set the stage for one of the best halves of basketball the Pilots have played all season long. The fourth consecutive victory moves the Pilots to 7-5 overall and 5-2 in conference play.

In the early going, the Pilots struggled to find the bottom of the basket which included a scoreless first half from Derrick Parker. The Pilots also were horrendous from the free throw line shooting 5 for 11 (45%). The combination of shooting woes and nine turnovers created a halftime deficit for the Pilots 36-26. "We didn't shoot the ball very well at all during the first half," commented Head Coach Chad McDowell. "We were more disappointed with our nine turnovers and awful shooting from the free throw line than we were with not making shots."

While the Pilots were not making shots, the Celts of St. Thomas were doing just the opposite. The Celts finished 6 for 14 from the 3 point line in the first half. The Celts had balanced scoring in the first half with 8 different players getting a basket. The rebounding battle during the first frame was barely won by the Pilots 21-19.

The next 20 minutes fortunately for the Pilots would be the tale of two halves. The Pilots were much stronger with the basketball and much more efficient offensively. Almost every Pilot got going offensively and picked up their intensity on the defensive end and on the boards. The Pilots ended up with a rebounding advantage of 16 over the Celts (46- 30). After a scoreless first half, NAIA All-American and Pilot's leading scorer Derrick Parker came through with 16 points and 9 more rebounds allowing him to get his 8th straight double-double to bring his season total to 10.

Greg Shyne finished the night with 16 points which included two big 3-point baskets in the second half. Aubin Young join the scoring party as well with 14 points on 7 of 10 shooting. Isiah Bazile finished with 11 points but 6 of those points came at big moments. On two occasions in the last 5 minutes of the game, the shot clock was under 10 and Bazile managed to knock down two 15 foot jumpers. Bazile's biggest two points came with 14.3 seconds to play. The Celts had the ball down 2 and missed their 3 point attempt to take the lead. After a fierce battle for the ball, Bazile was able to pick it up strong while being fouled immediately by two of the Celts players. Bazile made his way to the charity stripe calmly knocking down both of them. Those two points gave the Pilots a four point cushion and prove to be the difference as the Pilots held on to win 69-65. "Those were two big free-throws for sure," commented McDowell. The Pilots made good during the second half from the free throw line finishing 11 for 12 (92%).

"Today's win was much needed for our team," stated McDowell. "We got contributions from a lot of guys and today was a great team victory. Two guys that played big for us but may not show up on the stat sheet was Cody (Walker) and Rydell (Harris). But really, everyone played well in the second half. Their efforts and no quit attitude are to be commended."

The Pilots will be back in action at The Dock this Thursday night, January 12, 2012, against Jarvis Christian College. Tip- off is set for 7:30 p.m. Come out and support your Pilots!

Parker dominates as Pilots run past Southwest

JANUARY 05, 2012

SHREVEPORT, La. - Derrick Parker recorded his seventh double-double of the season as the Pilots crushed the Southwest Mustangs 99-72 on Thursday night at The Dock in Red River Athletic Conference play. LSUS (6-5, 4-2 RRAC) held a 14-point lead at the half against a pesky Southwest squad 56-42. The Pilots shot 46% from the field in the second half in route to a 27-point victory as they had four scorers finish the game in double figures.

Parker led all scorers and rebounders while Greg Shyne had an impressive night as well with 17 points. Shyne energized the crowd on the dunking end of an ally-oop from Jacoby Marshall just a minute into the second half. Parker was also on the dunking end of a no-look behind the back pass from Mark Politte with just under three minutes to play that brought the crowd to their feet once again as Politte finished the contest with four assists.

Jake Greene had a double-digit night for the Pilots as he drained some long rainbow style three's, three to be exact, and made five of six from the charity stripe to finish with 14 points while Aubin Young had an impressive first night playing in his first game this season tossing in 13 points and grabbing five rebounds.

Isiah Bazile turned in another hard working game finishing with nine points and as many rebounds while Rydell Harris had eight points and three rebounds.

The Pilots had a total of 23 assists in the game as Politte, Cody Walker, and Marshall each had four. Parker had four blocks underneath the basket. Southwest (4-6, 2-5 RRAC) forced the Pilots into 23 turnovers on defense but were unable to overcome the stellar defense of the Pilots as they forced them to take some rough shots as they finished at 30% from the field thanks to a slim 26% in the second half.

The Mustangs had two scorers in double digits; Demetrius Evans did not quite live up to his average coming into the game of 24.7 P/G but he did finish with a double-double with 20 points and 10 rebounds while Michael Darden had 10 points.

The three-point line was busy tonight at The Dock as USW shot just 20% making only seven of 35 attempts while the Pilots made five of 22 from downtown. LSUS shot 76% from the free-throw line making 26 of 34 while the Mustangs did not take a shot from the line in the second half and finished nine for 12 which they accomplished before halftime.

The Pilots dominated on the boards out re bounding the visitors 67-43.

The Pilots will now hit the road for a single game in Houston, Texas, for a 4:00 tip on Saturday afternoon at St. Thomas University. The next game at The Dock will be next Thursday, January 12, at 7:30 p.m. versus Jarvis Christian College.

Parker Earns Share of RRAC POW Honors

DECEMBER 19, 2011

WACO, Tex. - Derrick Parker of LSU Shreveport and Travis Lampley of the University of St. Thomas (Texas) earned recognition as the Red River Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Co-Players of the Week for Dec. 12-18.

Parker, a senior forward from Minden, La., poured in 39 points to guide the Pilots to a pair of RRAC victories last week. He notched 23 points and 13 rebounds to defeat Bacone College (Okla.), 104-69, before delivering another double-double with 16 points and 10 boards to outlast Langston University (Okla.), 74-67. Parker made 15-of-27 field goal attempts and 9-of-11 free throw attempts in the two games. LSUS is 3-2 in conference play and 5-5 on the season. Lampley, a junior guard from Houston, recorded a triple-double during a 2-0 week for the Celts. He scored 11 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and dished out 14 assists in an 85-69 conference victory over Bacone College (Okla.). He also accounted for 14 points and five assists in a 79-58 win over NAIA #7 Texas Wesleyan University. Lampley made 6-of-10 shots from the field and 13-of-21 from the free throw line for the week. UST is now 4-0 in the RRAC and 6-4 overall.

Ladarren Williams of Texas College and Ricardo Zanini of Our Lady of the Lake University (Texas) were additional nominees.

LSU Shreveport Men's Basketball's Quinton Washington Receives Degree

DECEMBER 18, 2011

SHREVEPORT, La. - Quinton Washington earned his degree from LSU Shreveport on Sunday afternoon after two seasons with the Pilots men's basketball team. A total of seven LSUS athletes were recognized at the fall commencement services at the CenturyLink Center in Bossier City on Sunday afternoon.

Washington, of Shreveport, Louisiana, played the 2009-2010 and the 2010-2011 seasons for Coach Chad McDowell and played a contributing role both seasons . Washington was looked upon by his teammates and Coach McDowell to provide a strong presence in the post on both ends of the floor. His single-game high was 7 points on January 28, 2010, against Dillard University. His contributions helped the Pilots win their fifth and sixth consecutive conference tournament championships. Washington finished his career as a Pilot with an overall record of 58-10 which included a regular season championship, two tournament championships, and two trips to the NAIA National Tournament.

"We are extremely proud of and for Quinton. He is a great young man of character that will continue throughout life to represent LSU Shreveport in a positive light. We wish him and his wife Dominique all the best God has to offer," said LSUS Men's Basketball Head Coach Chad McDowell.

Pilots Take Down Langston at The Dock

DECEMBER 14, 2011

SHREVEPORT, La. - The LSU Shreveport Pilots won their second game in a row on Wednesday night at The Dock by a final score of 74-67 over the Langston Lions. LSUS had four scorers reach double figures with Isiah Bazile leading the way with 18 points. LSUS (5-5, 3-2 RRAC) led at the half by two, 30-28, despite shooting just 29% from the field. The lead changed hands seven different times in the back and forth contest with Langston (2-8, 2-3 RRAC) leading by as much as eight at one point while the Pilots' largest lead of the night was nine.

LU's Nate Barfield, who led all scorers with 20 points, missed a chance to tie the game making only the front end of a pair from the line to bring the visitors within one, 32-31, with two minutes to play in the game. On their next possession LSUS' Bazile grabbed the rebound and took it the length of the floor for the bucket and the foul. He converted the free-throw to give the Pilots a four-point lead with 1:50 to play and the Pilots controlled the game the rest of the way.

Bazile made 10 free-throws including four of six from the field to lead the Pilots to their fifth win of the season as he claimed his third double-double of the season with 12 rebounds. Joining Bazile in double-digits for the Pilots were Derrick Parker (16), Greg Shyne (13), and Mark Politte (11). Parker finished the game with five blocks while Bazile rejected three. Politte led the team with three assists. The charity stripe was a busy place at The Dock on Wednesday night as LU was 18 of 27 while the Pilots made 25 of 49.

The next game for the Pilots will be at The Dock on Thursday, January 5th, at 7:30 p.m. against the Southwest Mustangs.

Pilots Blast by Bacone

DECEMBER 12, 2011

SHREVEPORT, La. - The LSU Shreveport Pilots men's basketball team drained 13 three-pointers in route to a 104-69 victory at The Dock on Monday night over the Bacone Warriors. LSUS (4-5, 2-2 RRAC) led by 13 at the half with three shooters already in double figures. Mark Politte was an impressive five for six from downtown to lead the team at the break with 17 points. The Pilots shot 60% from the field including seven of 12 from beyond the arc. The highlight though of the first half was the earth-shattering slam dunk by Greg Shyne as he was fouled by the defender. Shyne went on to the line to complete the three-point play. He had 11 points at the break.

Bacone (2-7, 1-3 RRAC) shot 41% from the field in the first half as Chris Fitzpatrick led all scorers with 19 points.

The Pilots dominated the fast pace-second half outscoring the Warriors 50-28 and had three scorers finish with 20 or more points. Derrick Parker earned his 8th double-double of the season, exciting the crowd as he was on the dunking end of an alley-oop during the second half. He finished with 23 points and 13 boards while teammate Mark Politte, in his first game, led all scorers with 29 points. He was anything but polite to the visitors as he lit up the board seven out of 12 times from beyond the arc. Shyne continued his dominance as well and finished with 23 points with two three's and a few dunks.

Jake Greene made a couple from way downtown as he finished with nine points. Chris Mitchell tossed in eight points in 12 minutes of action. Isiah Bazile was back to his unselfish pass-first style of play after helping carry the offense load through the first eight games of the season. Bazile finished the game with just four points but had four assists second to only Politte who had five. Greene also finished with four assists.

LSUS took advantage on some missed shots by Bacone as they topped the box score out rebounding the Warriors 53-37. The home team dominated from start to finish as they led had the lead for most of the game. The only time the Pilots were not in front was when Bacon tied the contest once in the first half. LSUS led by as much as 41 in a game that they never trailed.

The next game for the Pilots will be at The Dock on Wednesday, December 14, at 7:30 p.m. against the Langston Lions.

Rams Outlast Pilots in Overtime

DECEMBER 03, 2011

SHREVEPORT, La. - The no. 10 Texas Wesleyan Rams used 14 points in the triple-overtime period to ease past the no. 6 LSU Shreveport Pilots on Saturday night at The Dock.

LSUS (3-5, 1-2 RRAC) shot just 25% after halftime and finished at 32% for the game while TWU (6-1, 3-0 RRAC) picked up their first road win of the year after shooting 33% from the field.

The Pilots were able to slow down the long range shooting Rams who coming into the game was in the top two in the nation in Three-Point FG % overall and per game to just six total for the game. TWU only shot 22% from downtown but the Pilots were no better at 8% only making two in 24 attempts.

The Ram's Eric Frederick led all scorers with an impressive double-double performance with 30 point and 20 rebounds while Oscar Griffin had 20 points off the bench. Brian Talley was the final Ram in double-digits with 17 points.

Jake Greene joined the LSUS scorers with 33 seconds to play in the first overtime as he tied the game with a three- pointer, until then all LSUS' points had been scored by only three players. Greg Shyne led the Pilots on the scoreboard with 28 points while Derrick Parker collected his sixth double-double of the season with 24 points and 17 rebounds, 14 of which were defensive rebounds. Isiah Bazile tossed in 16 points while Greene finished with five points.

The next game for the Pilots will be on Monday night at The Dock against the Bacone Warriors at 7:30 p.m.

Pilots fall to Our Lady of the Lake

NOVEMBER 30, 2011

SAN ANTONIO, Tex. - The no. 6 LSU Shreveport Pilots men's basketball team did not have an answer for the long- shooting Our Lady of the Lake Saints on Wednesday night at Mabee Gymnasium as they fell 112-94. The Saints knocked down 51% from downtown including 12 for 21 in the first half.

LSUS (3-4, 1-1) found themselves down by 11 at the half as the Saints shot 57% from long range. The home team took just eight attempts from beyond the arc in the second half making three.

LSUS' Derrick Parker and OLLU's Josh Orta led the scoring as each poured in an impressive 31 points which is Parker's season high. Parker grabbed 13 rebounds to get his fifth double-double of the season which was also the fifth time this season he has scored 20 or more points and the first time to reach the 30 plus plateau.

He was not alone in double figures for the visitors as he was joined by three others. Greg Shyne sank two dozen points while Isiah Bazile helped out with 17 points of his own. Jake Greene made three from downtown and three from the charity stripe to finish with a dozen. Parker and Shyne played stellar defense as well as Parker blocked three shots and had two steals while Shyne led the team with three take aways.

OLLU (4-3, 2-0 RRAC) spread the scoring around as they finished with four more scorers in double figures in addition to Orta. Marco Cooper and Lo Ron Smith eached had 16 points while Juan Ortiz (12) and Ricardo Zanini (10) rounded out the double-digit scorers.

The Saints' defense pressed the Pilots into 28 turnovers including 17 steals but the Pilots gathered more rebounds 34-27.

The Pilots will return home on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. to face the no. 10 Texas Wesleyan Rams at The Dock. The Rams are currently 2-0 in the RRAC and 5-1 overall and come off a 92-75 thumping of Paul Quinn.

Pilots stomp HTU

NOVEMBER 28, 2011

AUSTIN, Tex. - The LSU Shreveport Pilots picked up their second straight win in the opening game of the Red River Athletic Conference with a convincing 73-55 win over the Huston-Tillotson Rams.

LSUS (3-3, 1-0 RRAC) had a dominating performance in the first half shooting 48% from the field including four of 10 from downtown and an impressive 13 of 14 from the free-throw line to take a commanding 41-26 lead at the half.

HTU (0-3, 0-1 RRAC) shot 36% from the field matching the Pilots from downtown with four mad three's in the first half but amazingly they did not shoot a single shot from the free-throw line.

The Pilots kept up the pace in the second half making 40% from the field. Their performances from downtown and the charity stripe was not quite as impressive as the first half but it was good enough to get the win as they made only one three-pointer in six attempts and only seven for 11 from the free-throw line.

LSUS finished at 43% from the field for the game and five of 16 from long range. They made 80% of their free-throws (20- 25). All 25 shots came from five different players: Derrick Parker (3-5), Jake Greene (4-4), Greg Shyne (7-8), Isiah Bazile (5-6), and Chris Mitchell (1-2).

"We are very pleased with the victory. It's a great way to start conference play," siad LSUS head coach Chad McDowell.

Parker earned his 4th double-double of the season as he led all scorers with 25 points and also led all rebounders with 12, 10 of which were on the defensive side of the ball. In addition to the rebounds, Parker also rejected five shots to lead the team in blocks.

Shyne had 18 points and was equally as impressive on the defensive end with three blocks and three steals in 34 minutes of action while Greene nailed three from downtown to finish with 13 points in 27 minutes. Bazile came close to a double-double but came up just short finishing with nine points and eight rebounds but he led the team in assists with five in 33 minutes.

The next contest for the Pilots will be on Wednesday in San Antonio against Our Lady of the Lake University at 7:30 p.m. The Pilots will play their first home game at The Dock this Saturday at 7:30 p.m. against the Texas Wesleyan University Rams.

Pilots Defeat ETBU 71-69 In Final Non-Conference Game

NOVEMBER 19, 2011

MARSHALL, Tex. - The no. 6 LSU Shreveport Pilots Men's Basketball Team visited East Texas Baptist University today for their final non-conference game of the year. Thanks to an incredible shooting performance by Jake Greene and a put- back shot by Derrick Parker with six seconds to play, the Pilots defeated the ETBU Tigers 71 - 69.

It was all Derrick Parker and Jake Greene on the offensive end during the first half. Parker led all scorers during the first frame with 17 points going 8 for 11 from the field. Jake Greene was able to get his shot to fall early and often this afternoon contributing 12 points in the first half. All of his points came from behind the arc where he connected 4 out of 6 attempts. The Pilots were leading at the half 41 - 36.

The Pilots led the entire second half but couldn't manage to ever completely pull away from the scrappy Tigers of ETBU. The Pilots were able to build up a 10 point lead with less than five minutes to play. The Tigers capitalized on some missed free throws by the Pilots and hit several big shots to narrow the margin and eventually tie the game with 30 seconds to play.

On the Pilot's final possession, Jacoby Marshall saw a driving lane and hit it quickly. As he made his way towards the basket, he recognized Parker just outside the lane and passed the ball away. Parker's first attempt came off the front of the rim but he was able to gather the rebound and put back what turned out to be the winning basket. ETBU was able to advance the basketball down the floor for one last three-point attempt that bounced off the back of the rim.

Jake Greene continued his great shooting exhibition the second half making 3 of his 5 attempts. He finished the game with 21 points making good on 7 of his 11 attempts from downtown. Parker turned in another double-double scoring 25 points and pulling down 11 rebounds despite spending some key minutes on the bench in foul trouble. Another very impressive performance was turned in by the steady Isiah Bazile. He also recorded a double-double scoring 12 points and pulling down 10 rebounds.

"It was a great team effort this afternoon," commented LSUS head coach Chad McDowell. "We want to be able to close a game out better than we did. ETBU had a lot to do with that though by hitting big shots when they needed them the most. We are very fortunate that our poor performance from the free-throw line didn't cost us the game. I am very proud of our overall effort and always grateful to get a victory." Comments on the last play that gave the Pilots the victory, Coach McDowell stated: "How about that Jacoby Marshall? He is a fine young man and a very good basketball player. I'm so proud for him. He saw a lane and knows that we (LSUS Basketball) believe that if you are ever in doubt of what to do or where to go or a set play breaks down, play basketball. Jacoby did just that by driving the lane they gave him and he knew who to get the ball to in that situation. He made the play and I am proud of him and for him but he will tell you he gave the ball up to a pretty good player in Derrick Parker. When the ball found DP's hands, he just did what DP does night in and night out. He makes big shots or rebounds the ones that don't go in and puts them back in. It was a great finish and a wonderful way to close out the non-conference season."

The Pilots are now 6-1 against the Tigers in which the Pilots have won six in a row.

Up next the Pilots will sail into Red River Athletic Conference play on the road to Austin, Texas, with a November 28th meeting at Huston-Tillotson University with the tip-off set for 7:30 p.m.

Pilots comeback falls short against William Carey

NOVEMBER 12, 2011

JACKSON, Miss. - The no. 6 LSU Shreveport Pilots men's basketball team rally came up short on Saturday night in a 69- 65 loss to the William Carey Crusaders at Belhaven University's Rugg Arena. LSUS (1-3) shot 30% from the floor in the first half that led to a 42-26 deficit at halftime. WCU (1-3) shot 48% while making six out of 11 attempts from downtown.

The Crusaders had four scorers reach double figures while the Pilots had just two. WCU's Brandon Givens led all scorers with 22 points while Roderick Little had 15. Donzedrick Smith pitched in 11 points off the bench while starter Jaron Edwards had 10.

LSUS' Greg Shyne led the team for the second game in a row in scoring with 16 points while Derrick Parker had 14. Parker led the squad with eight boards.

The Pilots shot 56% from the floor in the second half nailing 13 of 23 attempts to outscore the Crusaders 39-27 in the second half but it was too little too late. LSUS was six of 18 from downtown and 15 of 18 from the free-throw line.

The Crusaders were 42% from the field in the second half to finish at 46% for the game from the field. They drained 10 out of 19 attempts from downtown and were 13 of 20 from the charity stripe.

The next game for the Pilots will be next Saturday, November 19th, at the new tip off time of 2:00 p.m. The game was originally scheduled for a 7:30 p.m. start.

Pilots defeat Belhaven for first win of season

NOVEMBER 11, 2011

JACKSON, Miss. - The no. 6 LSU Shreveport Pilots men's basketball team won their first game of the season with a tough road win over the Belhaven Blazers 79-60 on Friday night at Rugg Arena.

LSUS (1-2) shot 47% (17-36) in the first half from the field to build up a 43-36 lead at the break while the Blazers shot 45% (15-33). BU (1-2) lost many opportunities as the Pilot's Derrick Parker shut down their attack with 10 defensive rebounds.

The Pilots finished the game shooting 46% from the field making 29 of 62 while Belhaven slumped off to 25% from the field in the second half to finish at 34% (25-72) for the game. Both teams took their shots from downtown as the Pilots won the three-point battle making eight out of 24 while Belhaven made just six of 22 attempts.

LSUS shot the ball much better than they had in the previous two games making a total of 13 of 16 from the charity stripe while the Blazers made just four of six. The Pilots gathered more rebounds than the Blazers 44-39.

Greg Shyne led all scorers with 28 points after draining four of seven from downtown and a perfect two for two from the charity stripe while Derrick Parker his second double-double on the season with 18 points and 15 boards. Isiah Bazile had 16 points and pulled down six rebounds while Jake Greene and Chris Mitchell each had six points each. Shyne and Greene helped the Pilot's cause each grabbing seven rebounds.

The Blazer had just two in double figures; Brittion Smith led the team with 11 while Daryl Arnold finished with 10 points. Arnold, Jordan Butts, and Reinis Ozolins all tied for the Blazer lead in rebounding with five boards each.

The next game for the Pilots will be tomorrow against the William Carey Crusaders at Rugg Arena in Jackson at 4 p.m. The Crusaders (0-3) come off a 72-55 loss to Tougaloo on Friday night.

Pilots downed by Science and Arts

NOVEMBER 05, 2011

SHAWNEE, Okla. - The LSU Shreveport Pilots men's basketball team first win of the season did not come on Saturday at the W.P. Wood Fieldhouse as they lost their second straight to the University of Science and Arts Drovers by a final score of 68-62.

LSUS (0-2) shot a slim 21% from the field in the first half to trail at the break by 10, 32-22. USAO (1-1) rebounded from their loss of Friday to the SAGU Lions as they made four of 16 three's attempted in the first half. The Pilots shot the ball better from the field in the second half at 43% (13-30) and outscored the Drovers in the second half 40-36 but it was not enough nailed three more three-pointers in the second half to minimize the damage to hold on for their first win of the year.

LSUS struggled again from the free-throw line making only 25 of 40 against a team that fouled them in the game a total of 29 times as they had two players foul out. The Pilots were 13 of 21 from the charity stripe in the second half.

LSUS' Derrick Parker led all scorers once again with 22 points and collected his first double-double of the season with 21 rebounds. Isiah Bazille (19) and Greg Shyne (15) were the only two other Pilots to finish in double figures. Shyne was the second in the game for rebounding for the Pilots with six.

The Drovers had three players to finish in double figures: Brandon Cutler (20), Graham Faulkner (12), and Kyle Hunt (10). Cutler also led the team in rebounds with eight.

The Pilots look to rebound next weekend as they travel to Jackson, Mississippi, to take on William Carey University (11- 11-11 at 4 p.m.) and Belhaven University (11-12-11 at 8 p.m.) in the Belhaven Invitational.

Pilots fall in season opener

NOVEMBER 04, 2011

SHAWNEE, Okla. - The no. 6 LSU Shreveport Pilots basketball team lost the first game of the season by a final score of 79-75 against St. Gregory's University Cavaliers on Friday night at the W.P. Wood Fieldhouse.

LSUS (0-1) led 42-41 at the half after shooting 57% (15-26) from the field while St. Gregory's shot 50% (16-32). The Pilots went four of nine from downtown in the first half to earn the edge at halftime while the home team was two for eight.

The Pilots was just one of five from long range in the second half. St. Gregory's (1-0) didn't light it up from downtown in the second half either as the made just one of eight but the difference maker was the 11 of 14 free throws that they made while the Pilots was just six of 11 from the charity stripe and was 14 of 24 for the game.

LSUS' Derrick Parker led all scorers with 29 points after a 12 of 16 performance from the field in 33 minutes of action. Greg Shyne (19) and Isiah Bazile (10) were the only two other Pilots to top the double digit mark. Shyne nailed a pair of three-pointers and was three of four from the line while Bazile was four of nine from the field.

Jeremy Malone led the Pilots with nine rebounds while Parker finished the game with eight.

Fayzon Richey led the Cavaliers with 26 points while Ron Waller (15) and Pud Ross (11) also reached double figures for the home team. Richey led the Cavs with nine rebounds.

The Pilots will look to rebound tomorrow afternoon at 3 p.m. against the University of Science and Arts who comes off a 69-66 loss to the SAGU Lions on Friday at the W.P. Wood Fieldhouse.

Tip-Off time change against ETBU

NOVEMBER 03, 2011

SHREVEPORT, La. - The LSU Shreveport Pilots men's basketball team will meet the ETBU Tigers in Marshall, Texas, at 2:00 p.m. instead of the original time of 7:30 p.m.

The Pilots will begin the 2011-2012 season on Friday in Shawnee, Oklahoma, at 4:00 p.m. against the St. Gregory's Cavaliers who posted 13 straight losses to end last season and finished with a 5-21 record. The Cavaliers are a member of the NAIA's Sooner Athletic Conference.

Game Times have also been announced for the Pilot's two games in the Belhaven Invitational. The Pilots will play the William Carey Crusaders on Friday, November 11th, at 4:00 p.m. at Rugg Arena on the campus of Belhaven University. Saturday's (November 12th) with the Belhaven Blazers is set to begin at 8:00 p.m., also at Rugg Arena.

Game two of the road trip for the Pilots will be on Saturday at 3:00 p.m. against the University of Science and Arts another member of the SAC. Last season they had an 11-17 overall record but was the #2 team in the NAIA in Three-point Field Goals made per game.

The first home game for the Pilots at The Dock will on Saturday, December 3rd, against the Texas Wesleyan Rams at 7:30 p.m. Unfortunately the game with the Rams will be the only Saturday home game for the Pilots this season. In addition the Pilots will play a total of 11 more games at The Dock.

Pilots picked to win the RRAC

SEPTEMBER 30, 2011

WACO, Tex. - LSU Shreveport Pilots men's basketball team narrowly edged Texas Wesleyan University for the top spot in the 2011-12 Red River Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Preseason Poll.

The Pilots open up RRAC play on the road with a two-game road trip in Austin, Texas, against Huston-Tillotson University on Monday, November 28th, at 7:30 p.m. and against Our Lady of the Lake University in San Antonio, Texas, on Wednesday, November 30th, at 7:30 p.m.

The first home conference game at The Dock will be on Saturday, December 3rd, against Texas Wesleyan University at 7:30 p.m. which is one of only two home games on a Saturday in conference for the Pilots with the other game on Saturday, March 3rd, against Paul Quinn at 7:30 p.m.

Following are the results from voting conducted by the RRAC's coaches with points awarded through a 12-11-10-9-8-7-6- 5-4-3-2-1 format. First place votes are shown in parentheses.

1 LSU Shreveport (5) 157

2 Texas Wesleyan (4) 155

3 Our Lady of the Lake (3) 146

4 Texas College 123

5 Wiley 104

6 SW Assemblies of God 92

7 St. Thomas 89

8 Jarvis Christian 81

9 U. of Southwest 65

10 Bacone 47

11 Langston 46

12 Paul Quinn 46

13 Huston-Tillotson 32

-RRAC-

LSUS Men's Program Receives RRAC Sportsmanship Award

SEPTEMBER 29, 2011

WACO, Tex. - Special recognition was given to LSU Shreveport for its men's programs and Southwestern Assemblies of God University for its women's teams. Awards were determined in voting by all RRAC athletic directors. Northwood University was selected as the overall winner of the 2010-11 Red River Athletic Conference Sportsmanship Award as the program with the coaches, players and administration that exhibited the best demeanor and conduct during the most recent academic year.

The RRAC Sportsmanship Award is given annually to the RRAC member institution that displayed the highest level of sportsmanship including teamwork, fair play, respect for the game and conduct in competition. The school's sportsmanship must be apparent across multiple sports, on and off the field and in interaction with fellow member schools.

Andrew Brouillette received the Champions of Character Award at the Avista-NAIA World Series for baseball and the Pilots men's basketball Coach Chad McDowell was named as the NAIA Champions of Character Coach of Character Award for the 2010-2011 season.

Representatives from Northwood, LSUS and SAGU were presented with the awards at the conference meetings in September in Dallas.

LSUS Men's Basketball Accepted Easter Seals Friend Request

SEPTEMBER 14, 2011

The LSU Shreveport Men's Basketball Team volunteered to work Easter Seals Louisiana Inaugural Golf Tournament. This fundraiser for Easter Seals Louisiana was held on September 2, 2011 at Olde Oaks Golf Club. The fundraising event was very successful and a lot of fun. Members of the LSU Shreveport Men's Basketball Team contributed to this successful fundraiser through their volunteer work. The players helped in any way possible including serving in the food tents, supervising hole-in-one par 3's, and traveling throughout the course serving participants water and snacks.

Easter Seals Louisiana was appreciative of the LSU Shreveport Men's Basketball team service and wrote them a thank you letter addressed "Dear Friend of Easter Seals." Easter Seals provides exceptional services to ensure that all people with disabilities or special needs and their families have equal opportunities to live, learn, work, and play in their communities. "The word is out about how great our fundraiser was and we want to say thank you for helping" says Bernadette Bitting, Director of Development for the non-profit organization.

Jake Greene, a junior guard for the Pilots, was in attendance for the fundraiser and day of serving. "Any time you have an opportunity to serve others and give back to the community, you should take advantage of it," commented Greene. "It's a special honor in my opinion to give to an organization that serves those who are less fortunate and helps people with disabilities. I hope we continue having opportunities to serve."