Angelina College’s Roadrunners are coming off arguably their best win of the season. The Lady Roadrunners, currently ranked No. 19 in the nation, are taking on the team one slot ahead in the rankings.
Wednesday at Shands Gymnasium offers the potential for an old-fashioned roof-raising, with both AC teams at home for a doubleheader.
The Roadrunners pulled off an upset on the road on Monday, beating Bossier Parish Community College 82-79 to hand the Cavaliers their first loss of the season. Kevin Norman led the way with 18 points and seven rebounds, and Walter Prevost added a double-double with 12 points and 10 boards. Guards Draylin Brown (16 points) and Deedy Gauno (15 points) teamed up for a 31-point backcourt performance.
The game was the first of three conference matchups this week for the ‘Runners, now 8-8, 2-3 on the season. AC hosts Panola College on Wednesday before traveling to No. 10 Trinity Valley on Saturday.
Before hitting the road to Bossier City on Monday, head coach Nick Wade alluded to the brutal schedule.
“We tell our guys, ‘This is why you signed up to play in Region XIV,’” Wade said. “It’s not easy. It’s going to be a great week for us, and it’s really going to test our mettle.
“I’ve got to give our guys credit. They’ve remained a team through all the ups and downs of this season, and I’m fortunate to have the players we have to keep us on track.”
The Lady Roadrunners (13-1, 2-1) have won two non-conference games since the semester break, beating McLennan 78-61 and Ranger College 69-64 in overtime. Both those games were in Waco, meaning AC’s ladies are returning home for the first time since Dec. 5.
Head coach Byron Coleman knows the No. 18 Lady Apaches well: He and Tyler head coach Trenia Tillis Hoard are long-time friends and rivals, so there won’t be many surprises in store on Wednesday.
“I don’t know if there’ll be anything different,” Coleman said. “Every time we play it’s a big game. The big thing for us is the opportunity to stay a game behind the first-place team in our conference.
“Tyler’s got one of the better post players in our league, but they’ve also got some very good guards. They’re extremely quick, and our guards are going to have their work cut out on both ends of the floor.”
The Lady Roadrunners and Lady Apaches tip off at 5:30 p.m. The Roadrunners and Panola are scheduled for a 7:30 p.m. start. Both games will be live streamed; viewers can catch the action by logging onto angelinaathletics.com.
The e-mail for AC’s Sports Information Director is gstallard@angelina.edu.
