EUNICE — The LSU Euince men’s basketball team was unable to overcome an early deficit in Tuesday night’s Region 23 Quarterfinal game at the HPRE Center. Holmes Community College jumped out to an early lead — an advantage the visitors never relinquished in a 79-64 victory.
LSUE ends the season with a 12-1 overall record.
How It Happened:
Holmes CC jumped out to a quick 7-1 lead and maintained a lead for the remainder of the game. LSUE got its first field goal with a put back by Dhoi Majak but Holmes CC answered with a contested three-pointer by Brandon Weatherspoon, who led the Bulldogs with 28 points.
Holmes CC built up the lead to 16-9 before LSUE started to make a run. Former St. Thomas More star Jonathan Cisse hit a three-pointer at the top of the key to make it a three-point deficit.
That would prove to be as close as the Bengals would get to tying the game.
Holmes CC built up the lead once again to double digits but LSUE managed to cut it back down to single digits. After a Isaiah Payne put back of Cisse missed three, LSUE trailed 38-34 at the break.
The Bulldogs came out hot in the second half and built up their lead to 19 points. LSUE tried to fight back as a three-point play by Cisse trimmed the deficit down to eight points.
Another layup by Cisse moments later cut the Bulldogs’ lead down to eight once again. Holmes CC would respond as the Bulldogs pulled away for the double-digit victory.
Big Number: 53.6
Holmes CC made 30-of-56 shots from the field by a healthy field goal percentage of 53.6. The Bulldogs were also efficient from three-point range making 8-of-20 shots from beyond the arc.
Players of the Game: Jonathan Cisse & Dhoi Majak
Cisse led all scorers with 29 points in his final game with the Bengals. Majak meanwhile helped give the team a spark early on as he scored six points and pulled down eight rebounds.
Up Next: LSUE will now prepare for the 2021-22 season.