Box Score LeMoyne-Owen beats Central State in regular season finale


WILBERFORCE, Ohio – The Central Marauders lost the regular season finale to LeMoyne-Owen, 77-73, on Monday night.

After sitting out most of Saturday's game due to injury, CSU forward Dwight Richards, Jr. returned to the lineup with a hot shooting hand in the first half. The junior scored 19 points, converting 7 of 12 shots to help his team to a 40-35 lead at intermission.

Led by seven straight points from Justin Street, LOC quickly erased the deficit and took a 47-44 lead with 14:09 to go. CSU regained its composure behind senior Keilan Blanks, who hit back-to-back three-pointers to help CSU claim a 57-53 lead with 9:25 left. LOC responded with an 8-0 run to go up 61-57 with 6:50 to play. LOC remained ahead and increased their lead to 72-64 with 2:12 left on the clock. CSU battled back to narrow the deficit down to 72-68. With 1:10 to go and possession, the CSU offense came up empty and LOC was able to convert free throws down the stretch to seal the victory.

Street finished with 26 points and 7 rebounds to lead his team to victory. Aston Morton came off the bench to score 22 to help his team improve to 9-18 overall and 8-9 in SIAC play.

Richards, Jr. finished with 27 points and 9 rebounds to lead CSU's efforts. Blanks scored 19 points. With the loss, CSU finishes the regular season with a 10-18 overall mark and a 6-11 ledger in the conference.

Quotable – Head Men's Basketball Coach Joseph Price

"It was a very disappointing loss. We didn't come out with enough urgency tonight. In these types of games, every possession counts and we were not able to come up with enough big plays to win."

"We missed a lot of lay-ups and free throws and it hurt us big time tonight. We had talked about how important it is to finish plays and we just could not execute tonight."

"We still feel confident that we can make some noise in the conference tournament. Our season isn't finished. We are going to work hard this week and be prepared to play well in Birmingham."

Notes:

• With a week off before next week's SIAC Tournament, the Marauders await to see how the tournament seeding will play out.
   
• This year's SIAC Tournament will be held in Birmingham, Alabama with the opening games beginning on Feb. 27.
   
• With Monday's result, Central State and LeMoyne-Owen split the season series (1-1) with each team winning on the road.

 
 
Next Up:

Feb. 27 or Feb. 28 vs. TBD (1^st Round – SIAC Tournament)

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