OLATHE, Kansas – The end to the LSUA men’s basketball season was not fitting.
The Generals swept to the Red River Athletic Conference regular-season and tournament championships, and rode a seven-game win streak into their first-round NAIA Tournament contest against a Bethel (Indiana) team that had lost four of its last five.
But Bethel played to form, and LSUA did not. The Pilots ended LSUA’s season with an 85-67 triumph Friday evening.
The sixth-seeded Generals, finishing 24-7, were averaging 85 points per game, just like their 11th-seeded opponent. But Bethel (20-11) pushed away by outscoring LSUA by 13 after halftime.
LSUA shot poorly, 32 percent overall and just 22 percent (6-27) on 3-pointers. The Generals faded in the second half when they connected on just 26 percent overall. Foul trouble also was a problem.
RRAC MVP Kashie Natt had his typical productive outing with 22 points, 9 rebounds and 3 steals while hitting half of his 14 shots. JD Allen added 15 points and 9 rebounds while Isaiah Howard scored 11 and Jason Perry II posted 8.
But Natt, Howard and Perry all finished with four fouls and had their minutes limited by foul trouble.
Bethel opened a 13-point lead near the middle of the second half, but LSUA ran off eight unanswered points, the first six from Natt, to close within 58-53 with 9:51 to go. Bethel recovered and outscored the losers 12-5 in the next four minutes to regain control.
Bethel (20-11) was eliminated in the regional final.