By: Michael Stewart, Sports Information Director, Langston University
After enduring a five-game road trip to wrap up January, the Langston University Lions tried to put the longest road stretch of the season behind them as they entered Monday night’s game against LSU-Shreveport tied for ninth place in the Red River Athletic Conference. Against the Pilots of LSU-Shreveport (second place in RRAC with overall record of 17-6), the Lions would extend the longest losing streak of the 2011-2012 season to seven with a 74-45 loss. Langston is now 5-18, and is tied for tenth place in the Red River Athletic Conference standings with six games remaining. The top eight teams in the RRAC get invited to play in the conference tournament at the end of the season.
Nate Barfield (23) had a monster set of games for the Lions to wrap up January and start February, but Charles Tucker (12) was the only Langston player to score in double-figures on Monday night.
Charles Tucker was the only Lion that managed to score in double-figures, as he finished the contest with 14 points off of 7-of-10 shooting. Tucker’s offensive game was a bright spot for Langston, as the home team shot just 32.2 percent for the evening. By comparison, the Pilots shot 51.7 percent from the floor, and also sank more free throws (ten) than the Lions attempted (six).
Greg Shyne led all scorers with 21 points, as the Minden, Louisiana native scored this amount for the second consecutive game. He also had 21 in the Pilots’ win late last week against Bacone College. Aubin Young also scored in double-figures, as he had 15 points against the Lions.
The game on Monday was the start of a new week for the Lions, as they searched for answers to three very difficult losses out of previous four games. Last Saturday afternoon, Langston had a 30-23 halftime lead over Wiley College, before the Wildcats were able to rally and defeat the Lions by a final score of 62-61. Nate Barfield (20 points) and Paul Campbell (12 points) were responsible for half of Langston’s scoring total. But, Wiley outshot Langston on the floor with a comparison of 41.3 to 36.8 percent. Langston also did not shoot great from beyond the arc (7-for-23) or at the charity stripe (12-for-20).
Other one possession losses came against St. Thomas (Texas) with a 51-47 setback Jan. 30, and a 79-77 heartbreaker against Texas College four days earlier. Like the loss against Wiley, these losses also were a result of Langston surrendering a halftime lead. Against Texas College, Langston had a 40-37 halftime lead before being outscored 42-37 in the second half. Against St. Thomas, Langston gave up their largest halftime lead of the season, after outscoring the Celts by a 28-15 margin in the first 20 minutes.
Langston will try to earn its’ sixth win of the season Saturday night against Bacone College in Muskogee. The Lions defeated the Warriors when the two teams played last, as Langston cruised to a 74-55 victory inside C.F. Gayles’ Fieldhouse on Jan. 9. With the win, the Lions will be able to triple their win total from last season, after finishing the 2011-2012 campaign with a final record of 2-25.
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