January 30, 2008
Aggies blow Storm away in LSC play
LAWTON, Oklahoma (January 30) – Hustle was the name of the game tonight as the Cameron Aggie men’s basketball team (4-15, 2-2 LSC North) won their second consecutive conference battle. The Aggies hosted the Savage Storm of Southeastern Oklahoma State (3-16, 0-4 LSC North) and won by the score 71-55. Cameron was in control throughout and really put on an impressive performance for a huge crowd of black and gold fans. The Aggies have now won two in a row.
“It always feels good to win a conference game,” Head Coach Maurice Leitzke said. “When you win any game in the LSC it is great because the conference schedule is so tough. For us to win back to back games in the (LSC) North Division is tremendous for our program.”
The Aggies went up 3-0 at the 19:46 mark in the first half and never looked back. They held the lead for the entire game and at one time were up by 21 points. The closest Southeastern came was their aforementioned three-point deficit at the beginning of the first half. The score at halftime had Cameron up 34-25.
Cameron shot 43.3% from the field, including 38.5% from three-point range, compared to Southeastern’s 37.5% field goal percentage. Tonight the Aggies also out-rebounded and out-shot SOSU, 37-32 and 67-56, respectively. Additionally, Cameron turned the ball over fewer times than their opponent, 10 to 7.
“Everybody contributed and played good minutes tonight,” Coach Leitzke said. “It was a team effort and everybody that stepped on the floor did well. It took everybody for us to get this win.”
Junior forward Leslie Malone had a monstrous game finishing with a game-high in both rebounds and points. He finished with 22 points on 10-14 shooting and an amazing 18 rebounds. He came within 8 rebounds of CU’s single game record. Malone also recorded 5 assists, a steal, and a game-high 3 blocks in 31 minutes of play.
Dave Smith, a junior guard, seemed to be raining three-pointers tonight as he finished the game with 17 points on 6-13 shooting, including 5-10 from long-range. He also recorded 7 rebounds and 5 assists in 37 minutes on the floor.
Tonight’s victory keeps Cameron in 4th place in the Lone Star Conference North Division. They are just two games behind the first place tie of Central Oklahoma and Southwestern Oklahoma State. The top four teams in each division move onto the LSC Championship tournament in Bartlesville, Oklahoma.
Sophomore guard Greg Morgan played in all 40 minutes tonight and recorded 11 points on 4-13 shooting. He also finished with 3 rebounds, 5 assists, and a game-high 2 steals.
Roosevelt “Rey” Lovett, another of Cameron’s junior guards, contributed 12 points on 5-12 shooting against the Savage Storm. He was the only other Aggie player to finish with a double-digit scoring total. He also recorded 3 rebounds and 3 assists in his 25 minutes of play.
“This is always the time of the season when you want to be playing your best basketball,” Coach Leitzke said. “Hopefully we can improve and build on this victory. That’s our goal.”
Cameron travels this weekend to take on the Bulldogs of Southwestern Oklahoma State. The teams tip-off at 4:00pm on Saturday in Weatherford, Oklahoma. The Aggies return home in exactly a week to host the Texas A&M-Commerce Lions next Wednesday.
There are only four home games left on CU’s 2008 men’s basketball schedule. Don’t miss your chance to see your very own Cameron Aggies in action.