By CALEB DUNLOP, LSUA Sports Information Director
The LSU Alexandria men’s basketball team earned its highest ranking of the season in the latest NAIA Coaches’ Top 25 Poll, coming in at No. 2 on Wednesday, then looked the part Thursday night.
The No. 2 Generals (19-1 overall, a league-best 16-1 in the Red River Athletic Conference) hit the gas after halftime and lit up visiting Paul Quinn 96-68 at The Fort on the LSUA campus, winning their 13th in a row. In Thursday’s first game, the LSUA women (a very impressive16-5, 13-4) prevailed 80-69 over Paul Quinn.
LSUA is home again Saturday in a 1 p.m. women’s-men’s RRAC doubleheader against Southwestern.
After winning last year’s RRAC crown, the LSUA men opened this season at No. 12 in the NAIA Preseason Coaches’ Top 25 Poll in late October and jumped to No. 6 in the first regular season poll on Nov. 13.
Coach Dimario Jackson’s Generals were 4-0 including a victory over then-No. 4 Freed-Hardeman (69-63), currently the only team above the Generals in the Top 25. In an outing that didn’t count on the record but caught notice around the country, LSUA notched an 83-80 win in an exhibition at NCAA Division I Lamar, one of the better teams in the Southland Conference.
Since then, the Generals are 15-1.
“It’s been an outstanding season so far for Dimario and his players,” LSUA director of athletics Tyler Unsicker said. “I am proud of not just their performance, but how they have continuously challenged themselves and each other to get better as the season has progressed. At this stage of the season, the games always get tougher, and the sustained success is a testament to the culture and drive of the program.”
LSUA is in prime position to defend its RRAC championship. The regular season will not end local fans chances to see the team — 2025’s conference tournament is Feb. 28-March 2 at the Laborde Earles Coliseum (formerly known as the Rapides Parish Coliseum).
Leading the Generals are All-American senior swingman Kashie Natt and sophomore guard E.J. McQuillan.
Natt has produced a remarkable season, averaging 18.1 points and 13.1 rebounds per game, while shooting 46 percent from the floor. The 6-foot-2 guard has recorded 10 double-doubles on the season, eight of which have come in conference play. He ranks fourth among conference players in points per game and leads the conference in rebounding.
McQuillan averages 13.1 points and is connecting on 42 percent of his shots from beyond the arc. McQuillan has recorded double-digit points in all but four games this season and scored a career-high 24 points twice – the first against Southwest in December and the second against Texas College in January.
After this week’s home contests, six games remain in the regular season.
The Generals’ final four games feature a trio of teams slated to make the RRAC Tournament. Two of those teams, Xavier and Our Lady of the Lake, are directly behind the Purple and Gold in the standings.
Xavier is currently second in the RRAC with a league record of 12-4, while Our Lady of the Lake is third at 12-6.
Three of the final four games are slammed into the week after the Super Bowl. LSUA goes to Xavier on Feb. 11, then is home for the final two, against Our Lady of the Lake on Feb. 13 and Texas A&M-San Antonio two days later.
The regular season finale sends LSUA on the road to play its sister school LSU Shreveport. The Generals captured the opening leg of the season series, 108-75, at The Fort on Jan. 4.