No. 22 Roadrunners Fend Off Coastal Bend

By GARY STALLARD

AC Athletics

(Photo by Elizabeth Craig)

The 22^nd-ranked Angelina College Roadrunners picked up their first conference win of the season on Saturday, posting a convincing 76-62 win over Coastal Bend Community College at Shands Gymnasium.

Milton Rice III came off the bench to lead the Roadrunners in scoring with 15 points, including a pair of exclamation-point dunks in the final minute. Daemon Ely added 14 points and five rebounds, Cedric Jones added 12 points and four assists and Clarence Payia finished with 10 points and six boards.

Travion Hall led the Cougars with 16 points.

A 9-0 AC run near the end of the first half helped give the 'Runners some breathing room in what had been a tight defensive battle in the early going. Three-pointers from Rice and Jones helped fuel the run, leaving AC with a 36-31 lead at the end of the first half.

Coastal Bend fought back in the second half, getting to within a bucket at 39-37 on a layup from Richard Safa. A 7-0 run from the 'Runners helped hold off the Cougars, and Rice's two big dunks near the end of the game helped seal the win.

The Roadrunners (7-2, 1-1) will host No. 4 Trinity Valley Community College in a big matchup on Wednesday, with tipoff scheduled for 7 p.m.

AC then wraps up the week on Saturday, with the team traveling to Bossier Parish Community College for a 4 p.m. game.  

The email address for AC's Sports Information Director is gstallard@angelina.edu.