Lamar State College Port Arthur got within three points of the nationally-ranked Trinity Valley Community College Cardinals as the final second ticked off the game clock. It wasn't to be, though, as a wild run to the buzzer ended with TVCC leading 96-90 at the Carl Parker Center on Wednesday night.
The effort was as inspired as any seen in the Parker Center in quite a while as the Seahawks rebounded from a 45-35 halftime deficit to get ahead of the Cardinals, the seventh-ranked NJCAA Division I team in the country.
A great deal of credit goes to guard Bentravin Phillips who exploded in the second half to finish as the game's top scorer with 27 points and four assists. Phillips is the top scorer in the conference with 27.3 points per game and 82 points overall in three league games. He also leads with 11 steals in league play this season and is holds the top mark for free throws, hitting 27 of 31 in conference competition.
Sophomore forward Jaylen Subject deserved at least a piece of the game ball against TVCC, scoring 22 points, including three huge 3-pointers late to keep the Hawks in the game. He added five defensive rebounds to his effort.
Justin Shorts came off the bench for LSCPA to score 13 points with two assists and three steals.
Ibra Bayu scored 20 lead five TVCC double-figure scorers. The Cardinals escaped with a 3-0 conference record, while the Seahawks fall to 1-2 in conference and 7-3 overall.
THe Seahawks are off now for the winter break, returning to the Parker Center on Wednesday, January 3, for a 2 p.m. non-conference game against Lone Star College-Tomball. Then the Hawks hit the road for a 4 p.m. conference game at Tyler Junior College on Saturday, January 6.
