ALEXANDRIA, LA---The University of the Southwest Men's Basketball program competed in their 9th game of the season on Saturday afternoon versus the #21 LSU-Alexandria Generals. Despite scoring a season-high 89 points as a team, it was not enough in a 111-89 loss. 

"I am proud of the guys tonight. We improved in a lot of areas but we still need to limit our silly mistakes and clean up the glass. I loved how the guys shared the ball today and because of it, we were able to score the ball. I think the guys are starting to settle in and find their groove. Each game we keep improving, so I know it will all come together soon" said Head Coach Cory Hitchcock following the game. 

The Mustangs scored 89 points on Saturday afternoon thanks in part to 6 Mustangs scoring double-digit points. They were led by Nathaniel White Jr. who scored 14 points on 5-10 shooting. White Jr. was 2-3 from 3-point range and had 2 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals in the game. Hunter Metteauer scored 13 points off the bench in 18 minutes of play including 3 three-pointers. Thurbil Bile (12), Tae Brown (11), Colton McGinnis (11) and Tyler Watkins (11) were the other Mustangs with double-digit scoring figures. Coach Hitchcock is glad that the offense is finally coming around. "It's definitely a confidence boost for our guys. The biggest thing about offense is confidence. You can't be confident if you aren't getting shots up on your own outside of practice. The guys have put in extra time in the gym this past week and it's paying off. Now they are starting to shoot with confidence and knock down shots.  It also helps when you pass up good shots for great shots. We scored today because we were making the extra pass and finding the open man. I am really happy with the progression we have made since week 1." 

The Mustangs held tough with the generals in almost every statistical category besides field goal percentage. But Coach Hitchcock knows that the real difference tonight was LSU-A's ability to find the open man. "LSU-A had a lot of second chance opportunities tonight.  They did a great job of crashing the glass and kicking it out to the open shooter.  When you have clean looks at the basket it's like shooting in practice.  They had great looks and because of it, they were shooting the ball at a high clip.  They are so good offensively and make it very tough to defend because they are so unselfish."

The Mustangs have another busy week upcoming with 2 more games with LSU-A (Thurs and Saturday) and UNT-Dallas and Arlington Baptist at the beginning of the week. "We keep working and continue to grow as a team.  Our goal is to win games and get back on track. I have high expectations for this program and if we want to achieve them we must continue to improve daily.  I know the potential we have and what we are capable of.  It's up to us to make sure we are taking care of our business and putting us in position to not only compete but win games" said Hitchcock.