Watching the Drovers - USAO fans have a couple of different ways to keep up with first round action from Kansas City. Chickasha’s KOOL 105.5 FM will broadcast the men’s games locally, and USAO will be showing each game of the men’s and women’s tournaments on campus in the Davis Hall Amphitheater. Students, faculty, staff and the community are invited to watch the Drovers live. Fans can watch each game from their computer for $7.95 per game by logging on to www.watchnaia.com.

Men’s Basketball
Drovers to Face Powerful Offense in First Round

 KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The good news for Drover fans is that the University of Science and Arts’ men’s team will play its first national tournament game since 2003 beginning at 12:30 p.m. Wednesday at KC’s Municipal Auditorium.

 The bad news is USAO’s opponent, LSU-Shreveport, boasts one of the highest scoring offenses in the country.

 Led by Josh Porter, who ranks fourth in the country scoring over 22 points per game, LSUS ranks eighth in the nation in scoring offense and 10th in margin of victory.

 “We looked at some tape of them this season and in the conference tournament, and they’re pretty good,” head coach Brisco McPherson said prior to Tuesday’s practice session. “They’re a little undersized, but they can all shoot it.”

 LSUS, 30-2 this season and the champion of the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference regular season and conference tournament, is averaging well over 87 points per game this season. The Pilots enter their fourth straight national tournament on a five-game winning streak and have an average margin of victory of 13.4 points per game.

 Feb. 23 was LSUS’s last lost. Spring Hill College avenged an earlier 90-52 throttling by holding the Pilots to only 28 percent shooting in the second half for a 100-80 win. LSUS dismantled SPC in the conference tournament 91-68.

 “There shooting is what concerns us. They don’t really have an inside presence, but they can all shoot,” McPherson said. “If we can catch them on a night when they aren’t shooting as well, that may be are only chance.”

 Senior guard Thomas Woods will draw the challenge of trying to contain Porter. Woods is the Drovers best defender, but McPherson said he knows stopping Porter will be tough.

 “I’m more concerned about them shooting uncontested shots,” he said. “We have to make them shoot contested shots. They don’t do a whole lot offensively. They just shoot it well. We have to limit them to one shot, get rebounds and take care of the ball. If we play well, we can win.”

 Rebounding will be a key and easier said than done against an LSUS team that ranks third in the country in total rebounds.

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