Lamar Holds Off Upset-Minded Northwestern State, 76-69
By Brandon C. Williams
Southland.org
KATY, Texas -- With his team's season hanging in the balance,
Lamar senior guard Mike James knew one thing: he wanted the ball in his
hands.
Two clutch shots later, Cardinals coach Pat Knight had no qualms
about James' desire.
James' first jumper tied the score with 2:19 left, and his second
with 1:30 remaining gave Lamar the lead for good in a wild 76-69 slugfest over
Northwestern State in Wednesday's quarterfinal, putting the fourth-seeded
Cardinals (21-11) into a Thursday evening tilt with Stephen F. Austin.
"We needed buckets," said James, who scored a team-high 21 points.
"I knew if I got the opportunity to, I was going to take them. I felt like if I
could get into the right spot and get enough room, I could make them."
The baskets wrote the final chapter to what had been a physical
game filled with momentum swings that left Merrell Center charged with
electricity as both schools fed off the emotion of their fan bases.
Erasing a 13-point deficit, Northwestern State (16-16) used a
17-1 second half run to hold a 65-61 lead with 3:10 left, but managed just one
field goal down the stretch.
"The key to that was that we got the ball into William's (Mosley)
hands," said Northwestern State coach Mike McConathy of his senior center,
who scored 22 points and grabbed nine rebounds. We were getting stops at the
other end, (but) we got tired...if you've got the numbers to keep things going,
that makes a difference."
The Cardinals very nearly saw their record of winning when leading
after halftime come to screeching halt, but Knight knew his team's knack for
overcoming their struggles would shine through in the end.
"We have a problem sustaining leads," said Knight. "For some
reason, we get nervous and I think complacent and let teams back into the game,
but instead of quitting, these guys come back. We should just do this from the
start, and it wouldn't be as dramatic."
Lamar's ability to get to the line helped lift to victory, as the
Cardinals knocked down 17 of their 23 attempts from the charity stripe,
including 5 of 7 in the final 62 seconds. The Cards also received a huge boost
from forward Stan Brown, who had 10 of the team's 46 rebounds and delivered two
critical blocked shots in the closing minutes.
Mosley put the Demons on his back despite spending much of the
second half with four fouls and dealing with the tragic loss of his two infant
sons in a Houston hospital on Saturday night. It was his grace under tremendous
personal pressure that helped Northwestern State nearly extend its season
by another 40 minutes.
"Warrior, man," said Demons guard Shamir Davis (12 points) of
Mosley.
"He's had a lot of bumps in the road this week," said McConathy,
"but he never changes. He's all business. He knows people care about him. He's
the kind of kid that I'd want to be my son."
Postgame Quotes
Lamar head coach Pat Knight
On giving up a big second half lead...
"We have a problem with sustaining a
lead. We had a great first half, but for some reason we get loose and
complacent and let them back in the game, but these guys never gave up. "
On the group of seniors...
"It is not just from a stat
standpoint, but from an energy standpoint, these guys have been focusing."
On hitting free throws down the stretch...
"It's always huge when we can hit free
throws. It keeps you in charge and it keeps the momentum going. If you miss the
free throws, it just gives the opposing team momentum. Our guys did a great job
hitting free throws."
Lamar senior guard Anthony Miles
On the last three minutes of the game...
"We have people on our team that can make
plays. All we wanted to do was to be in the game towards the end, and we were.
I never sensed anyone being rattle, and we have a lot of seniors on this team
and we just kept making plays."
Lamar senior guard Mike James
On the last three minutes of the game...
"We were in a close game and
Northwestern State got up a couple of points in the last five minutes of the
game, so we just needed to get stops. I felt like if we got stop, then we have
enough people to score, and we were going to come back. We were just focusing on
getting stops and taking shots that we needed."
Northwestern State head coach Mike McConathy
Opening statement...
"I am really proud of my team. They
came back under very adverse conditions from being down by 13 points and coming
back down there stretch. Unfortunately, we were just unable to make some shots
when we needed to and get some stops. I though t Coach Knight and Lamar did an
excellent job, especially the last three minutes of the game, getting to the
goal and getting some easy buckets. Our kids competed very hard, and our hats
go off to Lamar for hanging in there. "
On the last three minutes of the game...
"I just think the last three minutes,
Lamar was able to make shots, and we were attacking the glass but weren't able
to get to the free throw line."
Northwestern State senior center William Mosley
On his play against Lamar...
"I was just feeling it the whole game.
I came out ready to play, and I knew my teammates came out ready to play. They
told me they were going to feed it to me, and I just wanted to finish it
because I wanted to win. It was a tough loss but it was a hard-fought game."