Southland Conference Tournament Recaps
Unlike many conference tournaments, the 2005 Southland Conference Tournament is held entirely at campus sites instead of one site for all or most rounds. That gives teams a homecourt advantage based on their finish in the regular season, with the regular season champion potentially being able to play on their home court throughout the tournament. More and more mid-majors are trying to better protect their top seeds, and this is the Southland’s way of doing it.
In the quarterfinals, three of the top four seeds won, bearing out the homecourt advantage, and both home teams won in the semifinals. It all leads up to a championship game on Sunday that will feature the two teams that tied for the regular season championship.
Quarterfinal Recaps
No. 1 Northwestern State 81, No. 8 Texas-Arlington 67
Northwestern State got 26 points from Jermaine Wallace and never trailed en route to an 81-67 first round win over Texas-Arlington. The Demons broke open a close game in the second half and pulled away, aided by taking good care of the ball. Texas-Arlington (13-15) ended its season getting 16 points from both Jarrett Howell and Larry Posey.
No. 2 SE Louisiana 75, No. 7 Texas State 58
Southeastern Louisiana used a strong second half on the defensive end to turn a two-point halftime lead into a 75-58 victory over Texas State. Jonathan Patton led the Lions with 21 points, while Ricky Woods added 19 and Nate Lofton filled the stat sheet with 11 points, eight rebounds, six steals and five assists. Texas State (14-14), which was led by Josh Naylor’s 14 points, had the last tie of the game at 36 less than three minutes into the second half.
No. 3 Sam Houston State 88, No. 6 McNeese State 70
Defending champion Sam Houston State got a big effort inside from Eddy Fobbs with 20 points and 15 rebounds, and the Bearkats shot 56 percent from the field en route to an 88-70 win over visiting McNeese State. Fobbs made 9-of-10 from the field and was supported by Joe Thompson’s 18 points. John Ford led McNeese State (13-15) with 21 points and seven rebounds.
No. 5 Lamar 91, No. 4 UT-San Antonio 83
The lone first round upset was a mild one as Lamar got a career-high 34 points from Raymond Anthony and finished the game with a 14-2 run for a 91-83 win over host UT-San Antonio. Anthony scored 10 points in the decisive run, including five free throws, and he added seven rebounds. Alex Daniels supported Anthony with 27 points. 21 offensive rebounds helped keep UT-San Antonio (15-13) in the game, as did Justin Harbert’s 24 points and John Millsaps’ 20.
Semifinal Recaps
No. 1 Northwestern State 90, No. 5 Lamar 75
Northwestern State shot 57 percent from the floor and got 48 points from its bench as they advanced to the championship game with a 90-75 win over Lamar. Clifton Lee led the balanced attack with 17 points and eight rebounds, as four Demons scored in double figures, including reserves Alfonse Dyer (14 points) and Kerwin Forges (12). Lamar (18-11) shot just 39 percent from the field and was led by Alan Daniels’ 30 points. Northwestern State (21-11) never trailed in the game.
No. 2 SE Louisiana 71, No. 3 Sam Houston State 62
Ricky Woods scored 19 points and grabbed 12 rebounds as SE Louisiana overcame foul trouble to All-Southland player Nate Lofton in their 71-62 win over defending champion Sam Houston State. Lofton played just 21 minutes and scored eight points, but Woods, Jonathan Patton (14 points) and Terry Bryant (13 points, including 6-6 from the foul line) all picked up the slack as the Lions (23-8) beat the Bearkats for the third time this season. Sam Houston State (18-12) was led by Chris Jordan’s 15 points.
