On Friday March 13, the LSU-Shreveport men and women’s Pilots basketball teams will start their respective journeys to the red banner. The men’s team look to defend home court as they earned the right to host the first two rounds. The women must become road warriors as they travel to Campbellsville, Kentucky.
The Lady Pilots, led by second year head coach Tim Hays, first take on the Benedictine Ravens out of Kansas. Benedictine had a phenomenal 24-7 regular season and finished the regular season receiving six votes for the NAIA coach's poll. The Ravens finished second in the Heart of America Athletic Conference (HAAC) at 18-2, and fell to Mid-America Nazarene in the conference championship. It will be a tough road trip considering Campbellsville is ranked fifth in the nation.
In my first time speaking with Hays all the way back in August, he said when he first came along, Hays told athletic director Lucas Morgan if the goal was not to win a national championship every season, he did not want to be here. He believed in this group from the jump. Everyone plays their role and works towards one goal, to win. It will be a challenge, but this group of girls have what it takes to raise the red banner.
The same goes for the men’s side. It has been a complete 180 from last season. For the first time in program history, the Dock will host a portion of the first and second round of the NAIA men’s basketball tournament. When comparing this team to last season’s squad, head coach Kyle Blankenship simply calls it “night and day”. “We have guys who actually love college basketball this year. They how up to work every single day.” Blankenship says there have been “no days off” with the team. Their first opponent will be the Tougaloo Bulldogs out of Jackson, Mississippi.
Tougaloo finished the season 19-9 overall with a tied-best 10-2 conference record in the HBCUAC (Historically Black Colleges and Universities Athletic Conference). The Bulldogs fell to Southern-New Orleans in the conference championship. LSUS defended home court well this season, going 12-2 at the Dock. This Friday evening, they look for the biggest win in the history of the Dock.
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