In a game that came down to the final buzzer, the McLennan Highlanders fell to the LSU-Eunice Bengals 74-71.
Points were few and far between at the start of the game. McLennan led 6-1 after the five minutes of play. That would prove to be the largest lead by either team in the half. LSU-Eunice put together a 6-0 run to go up 7-6 with 14:53 to play in the first. It was back and forth for the two teams as they traded the lead. The Highlanders led 29-27 with 37 seconds remaining before the half. A put-back basket by Isaiah Jones at the buzzer gave McLennan the four-point advantage at intermission, 31-27.
The Bengals added a 3-pointer from Bryce Roberts to start the second half. McLennan responded with a 5-0 run composed of a bucket by Jacobi Lewis and 3-pointer from Jaylen Thompson, pushing the lead to 36-30. LSU-Eunice found a rhythm from behind the arc and used a 9-1 run to erase the Highlander lead, 39-37. The Bengals continued to push and led 62-51 with 5:11 to play. McLennan rallied behind strong shooting from Nick Shogbonyou and Manson Lockhart to tie the game at 64 with two minutes to go. LSU-Eunice's Kiani Saxon and Nasir DeGruy added a pair of free throws each followed by a 3-pointer from the corner by Roberts put the Bengals back on top by seven, 71-64. The Highlanders' CJ Hall drained a 3-pointer and Shogbonyo added a pair of free throws to pull within two with 24.36 seconds on the clock, 71-69. Leland Smith added two free throws for the Bengals to make it 73-69 with 20 seconds to play. Following a LSU-Eunice timeout, Shogbonyo added a bucket to pull within two 73-71. Smith added a free throw to make it a 3-point lead. The Highlanders had a chance to tie the game at the buzzer with a Jared Clawson 3-pointer but it bounced off the back of the iron.
Nick Shogbonyo led the Highlanders with 16 points and Mason Lockhart chipped in 11.
LSU-Eunice 74, McLennan 71
LSU-Eunice: Leland Smith 1 4-4 6; Nasir DeGruy4 5-7 15; Reginald Stoner 1 0-2 2; Bryce Roberts 6 2-319; Corey Pope 2 0-0 5; Puoch "PJ" Dubuol, Jr. 0 2-2 2; Seviuhn Turner 1 3-6 6; Nikola Letic 0 0-0 0; Kaden Pierre 0 2-2 2; Bryce Bickham 1 0-0 2; Kiani Saxon 4 2-2 11; Isaac Weaver 2 0-0 4; Totals: 22 20-28 74.
McLennan: Nick Shogbonyo 4 7-8 16; CJ Hall 3 1-2 8; Jacobi Lewis 1 0-0 2; Dayvaughn Froe 0 0-0 0; Jaylen Thompson 3 0-0 8; A.J. Barnes 0 2-6 2; Jared Clawson 2 4-5 8; Isaiah Jones 2 1-2 5; Omarion Smith 2 3-3 7; Mason Lockhart 4 3-3 11; Kaleb Pouncy 1 0-0 2; Cedric Kelley 1 0-1 2; Totals: 23 21-30 71.
3-pointers: LSU-Eunice 10 (Roberts 5, DeGruy 2, Pope 1, Turner 1, Saxon 1), McLennan 4 (Thompson 2, Shogbonyo 1, Hall 1); Total fouls: LSU-Eunice 25, McLennan 20; Fouled out: McLennan (Shogbonyo); Halftime score: McLennan 31, LSU-Eunice 27; Record: McLennan 2-1.
