Lamar State College Port Arthur's Devaughn Thomas upped his bid for the Region 14 scoring title, but the Seahawks came up two free throws short Wednesday, falling 66-64 to South Zone leader Angelina College.
Thomas scored 28 points, his third 28-point performance in two weeks, hitting 9 of 16 shots from the floor and 9 of 9 from the free throw line. But, as a team, LSCPA missed 10 of 32 from the charity stripe and just missed pulling off a stunning comeback.
The visiting Roadrunners led by eight points, 35-27, at halftime of the game at Port Arthur's Carl Parker Center and by as many as 11 points, 45-34, with 14:11 to play.
But the Seahawks, behind Thomas and Darrell Jones, inched back into the game and tied it 64-64 on Jones' jumper with 10 ticks left on the clock. Angelina got the winning bucket on a tip-in by Travis Henson with 1.1 seconds left.
Seahawks freshman Ferontay Banks put up a half-court shot at the buzzer that hit the back of the rim but did not go in.
"In a tight game like this, it comes down to free throws and rebounding, and the other team did a little bit better than we did," Seahawks Coach Lance Madison said.
Angelina, improving to 7-2 in Region 14 play and 11-8 overall, made 14 of 20 free throws and outrebounded Lamar State 49-35, ripping down 14 offensive rebounds.
"It comes down to free throws and rebounding," Madison said. "We had opportunities to win the game and didn't."
The Seahawks, 10-11 overall and 4-6 in conference, got 11 points and seven rebounds from J'Son Brooks. Jones finished with 10 points, all in the second half. Kanntrell Burney hit three 3-pointers to finish with 9 points.
Thomas came into the game with the most points scored of any player in Region 14 and his team had won six of its last eight games. The Seahawks do not return to the court until next Wednesday at 7 p.m. and Lee College and their next home game is at 4 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 1 against Jacksonville College.
Angelina College (12-8, 7-2) – 35-31 -- 66
LSCPA Seahawks (10-11, 4-6) – 27-37 -- 64
Leading scorers: Angelina – Travis Henson 22, Christyon Eugene 10; LSCPA Seahawks – Devaughn Thomas 28, J'Son Brooks 11, Darrell Jones 10.
Next home game: 4 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 1 vs. Jacksonville College, at The Carl Parker Center Port Arthur.
