MARSHALL, Texas – Locked in a tight battle with American Southwest Conference opponent Louisiana College, the East Texas Baptist University men's basketball team was unable to deliver the final victory of the regular season in Ornelas Gymnasium falling to the Wildcats, 78-77. ETBU ends the regular season at 19-6 overall and 12-4 in the ASC East Division. They will be the #3 seed for the East Division next week in the ASC Championship Tournament in Alpine, Texas.

Both Chris Haynes and Robby Dooley powered the ETBU effort with 18 points each. Landin Brown and Jordan Gray added 14 points apiece. Austin Denzel led all scorers with 24 points, including the game-clinching layup in the final seconds. As a team, ETBU shot 53.8% from the floor (28-of-52) and connected on just 7-of-19 (36.8%) attempts from downtown.

The Tigers opened the first half with a 9-2 spurt, capped by a shot by Gray from long range put the lead at seven in the first four minutes of play. LC was able to cut the lead to one (9-8) after two free throws by Denzel. This time, Riddick would respond with a three-point basket of his own to put his team back on top by four (12-8) at the 14:06 mark. LC responded with an 8-0 run after a Kae'ron Baker's three pointer to go on top 16-12 over the next three minutes. A floater by Gray and a three pointer by Haynes trimmed the deficit to one over the next several possessions, pushing the score to 20-19 in the final eight minutes of the half. The Tigers would not take the lead until a turnaround jumper by Gray brought the score to 31-30 in the final minute. A step back jumper by Brown gave the Tigers a three point lead in the final seconds for a 33-30  lead heading into the half.

Haynes continued the momentum right out of the locker room with a tough shot in the paint, pushing the lead to five, 35-30, in the opening minutes. The Wildcats responded with an 8-2 run that was capped off by a three pointer by KJ Bilbo, giving his team the 38-37 advantage with 16:48 to play. LC would increase the lead to four (46-42), until a powerful dunk down the lane by Haynes trimmed the slight deficit to two, 46-44, with 14:30 remaining.

A 7-2 run by ETBU would give the Tigers a three point lead (51-48) until the Wildcats responded with a 12-2 run to regain control of the game, 60-53. ETBU trailed by eight (74-66) in the final three minutes of the contest, when a three pointer by Nathan Fontenot and back-to-back layups by Dooley trimmed the deficit to one, 74-73. Brown would answer in the clutch, converting a layup high off the glass plus the foul to give ETBU the two point lead (76-74) with 1:12 left. The Tigers would lead 77-75  but miss crucial free throws with 11 seconds left as LC grabbed the defensive rebound. Denzel then provided the answer for LC, sifting through traffic and converting on a circus layup plus the foul in the final 3.3 seconds of the game retaking the lead, 78-77.  The Tigers were unable to answer on the offensive end, leading to the tough 78-77 loss to LC.

ETBU will now face Concordia University-Texas on Thursday in Alpine, Texas, in the ASC Championship Tournament.