A huge first half helped Lamar State College Port Arthur to an 85-80 win over Tyler Junior College on Saturday afternoon, putting the Seahawks back on the winning path as the pulled their NJCAA Region 14 record even at 1-1 with the 85-80 decision at Wagstaff Gymnasium.

The Seahawks, who are now 7-4 overall for the season, return to the Carl Parker Center this Wednesday for a huge conference showdown with Kilgore College. The Rangers are undefeated so far this season and ranked No. 2 in the nation. That's nothing the Hawks haven't already seen and conquered however. Earlier this year, blazing a path to a national ranking of their own, the Seahawks beat No. 2-ranked South Plains College and No. 18 New Mexico Junior College.

It appeared that Tyler would ride out its home-court advantage to a positive outcome against LSCPA, leading the game 20-16 early in the first half. That's when the Seahawks came to life and utterly dominated the Apaches with a 29-2 run to end the first half up 45-22.

"This was a good win for us," Head Coach Lance Madison said. "I'm proud of our guys. We had some clutch baskets and we really hung in there together."

The Seahawks were led again by the dynamic duo of Kanntrell Burney and Daniel Braster. The two sophomores combined for 42 points, each hitting for 21 points with Braster picking up a double-double performance with 14 rebounds and had six assists as well. Evan Palmquist added 20 points for LSCPA.

Jestin Porter led the Apaches, who fell to 6-5 with the loss, with 18 points.