Southland Conference Tournament Quarterfinals: Darren Hopkins finished a frantic series of plays with a coast-to-coast layup that beat the buzzer by 0.7 seconds to give No. 7 Lamar a 99-98 upset of No. 2 Sam Houston State. Sam Houston State had just taken the lead on a three-pointer by C.J. Hadley with seven seconds remaining. And his three-pointer came after Lamar broke a 95-95 tie with 11 seconds to go when Lamar Sanders tapped in a rebound.
No. 3 Northwestern State started its defense of the Southland Conference title with an 85-76 victory against No. 6 Stephen F. Austin. Keithan Hancock gave the Demons the lead for good on a three-pointer, and Northwestern State ended the game on a 12-3 run. The Demons will play No. 7 Lamar in the semifinals.
Senior Kevin Menifee had an all-around excellent game with 14 points and 12 rebounds to guide No. 1 Texas A&M – Corpus Christi into the semifinals in the team’s first run through the Southland Conference Tournament. The Islanders beat No. 8 Southern Louisiana — the conference’s champion two years ago — 80-72. Southeastern Louisiana stayed close thanks to 26 Texas A&M – Corpus Christi turnovers that negated some of the Islanders’ hot shooting. Cedric Smith led the winners with 17 points.
No. 4 McNeese State got a sensational performance from Jarvis Bradley to hold off No. 5 Texas – Arlington 77-76. Bradley hit two free throws to give McNeese State a three-point lead, then ripped the ball away to prevent a potentially game-tying three-pointer. The Cowboys added a free throw, and Rodrick Epps hit a three-pointer to cut the lead to one with less than a second to go, but it was too little too late. [3/08/07]
