A&M Eagles rout Saints
TEXARKANA, Texas — Texas A&M-Texarkana left no doubt in the men’s contest with Our Lady of the Lake.
The Eagles pummeled the Saints Thursday night at the Patterson Student Center on the campus of Texas A&M-Texarkana, 86-67.
“I told my guys earlier in the week, this game meant a little more to me because we’re facing my previous school,” Texas A&M-Texarkana head coach Ryan Wall said. “All the guys told me to sit back and they would handle it. It was a good team win for us.”
The Saints shortened the court for the Eagles with their full-court press.
The Eagles were tagged with a technical foul, which gave the Saints the opportunity to cut the TAMU-T lead to 12 points, 42-30.
The Eagles forced three Saints turnovers in a row, and converted all into points on the other end of the court. TAMU-T led OLLU, 51-30, with 15:28 left in the contest.
The Saints had no answer for the Eagles backside cuts and post play.
TAMU-T had six consecutive possessions where they were able to come away with points, while halting OLLU’s offense.
Connor Oullette finished the night with a gamehigh 26 points with seven rebounds, white teammate Desmond Kennedy added 13 points.
The Saints trailed by more than 25 for much of the second half, before the Eagles strung together multiple possessions that resulted in no points.
OLLU sliced the TAMU-T lead to 13 points on the layup by Estefan Trevino. Trevino finished with 16 points during the contest for the Saints.
Decorian Phillips finished with 16 points for the Eagles and teammate Anthony McGee poured in 10 points.
“Decorian gives us a spark off the bench,” Wall said. “Not saying he shouldn’t be a starter but we like what he brings to the team when he comes off the bench. He gets guys in the correct sport and he’s another floor general out there for us.”
The Saints got an early lead over the Eagles behind the streaky shooting of Michael Saladin. Saladin scored OLLU’s first 12 points of the contest, while finishing the night with 21 points.
TAMU-T stormed back in the middle of the first half, to regain the lead, 14-12.
Oulette drained two treys consecutively, adding to the Eagles advantage over the Saints with 10:56 before intermission, 22-12.
The Eagles full-court defense gave the Saints trouble in the first half. TAMU-T forced 12 turnovers in the first half, while only committing six.
With 5:25 left before intermission, the Saints trailed the Eagles by 20, 38-18.
TAMU-T held their double-digit lead at the end of the half heading into the locker rooms, 40-22.