Lamar State defeats Panola College, 105-102 in overtime

[LamarStatesports]

Lamar State College-Port Arthur went to overtime for the fourth time this year Wednesday night and came away with their second OT win, a thrilling 105-102 home victory over Panola College in the next-to-final game of the 2010 regular season.

The win keeps the Seahawks’ hopes alive of taking second in Region XIV's South Zone, which would give them a bye in the opening round of the March 5-8 conference tournament at the University of Texas-Tyler.

Panola, down by five (47-42) at half-time, stayed in the game with three-point shooting and 34-for-40 at the free-throw line.

The Ponies tied the ball game at 89-89 as the second half ended.

Lamar State had to go the last minutes of regulation and all of the overtime without forwards Ahyaro Phillips and Gordon Ball, who both fouled out of the game.

Six Seahawks scored in double figures led by Nick Walters and Von Jones with 16. Dion Waiters and Keenan Coleman each had 15 points, followed by Gordon Ball with 14 and Roman Vaughn with 11.

Charlton Jones led Panola with 23 points.

The win moved Lamar State to 19-10 overall and 9-9 in Region XIV action with one game left in the regular season at 4 p.m. Saturday in the Carl Parker Center against Lee College.

[w518991]

What is the tie breaker if they end with the same conference record as the other 2 teams?

[w518991]

The Pt Arthur news said if the win staturday the Seahawks finish second in division and get a 1st round bye in the conference tourney. The win will also give them a 20 game win season

The area needs to fill the stands Saturday 4 pm Carl Parker Center and support the Seahawks.

[LamarStatesports]

The tie-breaker actually is a little more complicated than the PA News story suggested.

Needless to say, the Seahawks have to win Saturday to stay alive for the second spot, and the same applies to Angelina and Jacksonville.

Lee actually could be in a tie if they beat Lamar State, however they most likely would not win a tie-breaker scenario.

The first tie-breaker is head-to-head records. Angelina, Jacksonville and Lamar all split their games this season. Sp. that moves to the second tie-breaker, their records against South Zone teams.

Angelina is at home Saturday against Tyler. The Roadrunners will take second place with a win because the they have the best in-zone record (8-4) and have finished all their in-zone games.

The best Jacksonville (at home Saturday vs. Lon Morris) and Lamar State (at home Saturday vs. Lee) can do in-zone is 7-5 if they both win.

Lee would finish at 6-6 in-zone with a win, and they also split with the other teams that could end up tied.

So, like they always say, "It ain't over till the fat lady sings."

BTW: The third tie-breaker is the record against the highest-ranked teams in the South Zone. The fourth tie-breaker is the record against the highest ranked teams in the North Zone.

[LamarStatesports]

Well, I still wasn't correct in explaining the tie-breakers. It seems that Angelina lost twice to San Jacinto, so that tightens the race even further because their in-zone record is 7-5 and they are through playing zone teams.

The Region XIV commissioner told the PA News that the Seahawks will take second place with a win Saturday. If we lose, the process of deciding the winner is almost more than I want to think about. So, I'll just hope for a win and leave it up to someone else to figure out the rest of it.