Dec. 6, 2005
Box Score
HAMMOND -- Southeastern's
Ricky Woods scored a season-high 28 points, including a pair of free throws
with 10.6 seconds left and Southeastern withstood a last-minute scoring barrage
by the Southern Jaguars, to escape with a 65-62 win Monday night at the University
Center onthe Southeastern (LA) campus.
Southeastern (4-1) won for the fifth time in the last six meetings
against Southern (0-6) and the fifth straight time in Hammond dating back to
1994.
Like many of the close finishes that have occurred in the intra-state
rivalry, the SU Jaguars quickly turned a first half blowout by Southeastern,
into a nail-biter with six of the last eight games decided by five points or
less.
Ralph Hishaw made one of two free throws to close the deficit
to 61-51 before Chris Alexander's three-point play with 58 seconds left
got Southern to within 61-54. Woods made two free throws on Southeastern's
next possession to push the Southeastern lead back to 62-54, but Alexander responded
with a pair of free throws to get the Jaguars back to 63-56.
After Jerrid Campbell rebounded a Harden miss, Alvin Mott drilled
a 3-pointer with 33 seconds remaining to get Southern to within 63-59 before
Deforrest Riley-Smith's 3-pointer with 19 seconds left closed the gap
to 63-62.
On Southeastern's next possession, Woods was fouled by
Alexander and the senior made both free throws to give the Lions a 65-62 lead.
Southern drove the ball down the floor and a potential game-tying shot, an Alexander's
3-point try in the waning seconds, clanked off the front of the rim.
Chris Alexander's led Southern, which shot 50 percent (24-for-48)
for the game and 58 percent (15-for-26) in the second half with 17 points while
Hishaw added 15. Campbell grabbed eight rebounds for the Jaguars, who lost its
second straight game to an in-state opponent and third overall on the season.
"We only played 20 minutes of basketball. We didn't play
at all in the first half," first-year Southern coach Rob Spivery said.
"We dug a hole for ourselves. But I have to give our guys a lot of credit.
They showed a lot of character, a lot of pride, to fight their way back to have
a chance at the end. I'm just disappointed it took us 20 minutes to start playing."
Southern will host Louisiana Tech, Saturday night at 7 p.m.,
in Seymour Gym.
