Jan. 4, 2006
Box Score
BEAUMONT - Junior Brandon Chappell scored a career-high 20 points, but McNeese State used a 30-point game from J.T. Williams to hand the Cardinals an 83-78 loss Wednesday night at the Montagne Center in the Southland Conference opener for both schools.
Lamar dropped to 7-7 overall and 0-1 in SLC play. McNeese State improved to 6-6 and 1-0 in SLC play. The Cardinals, who have lost two straight, hit the road for a 7 p.m. game at Texas State on Saturday. Chappell's three-pointer at 5:05 of the second half tied the game at 73-73. Jarvis Bradley answered with a put-back dunk and Williams nailed a three-pointer put the Cowboys up five, 78-73, with 3:34 remaining.
Chappell, a native of Beaumont, followed with a three-pointer that pulled the Cardinals within two, 78-76, at 3:10. McNeese's John Ford made a pair of free throws to push the lead back to four, 80-76. Jason Grant made one-of-two at the line for the Cardinals. Quentin Gonzales missed the second of two free throws and Williams tapped out the offensive rebound for the Cowboys with 1:24 left.
After a 30-second timeout, McNeese ran a set play that resulted in a Dwight Boatner layup with 56 seconds remaining that gave McNeese a six-point lead, 83-77. Chappell made 1-of-2 free throws with 17 second left to close out the scoring.
The first half featured five ties and five lead changes. Trailing 18-20 following a Williams 3-pointer, Lamar went on a 6-0 run to take a 24-20 lead on a Chappell 3-pointer. Williams answered with a 3-pointer and Boatner tied the game at 26-26 with a three-pointer with a Nashid Beard jumper for the Cardinals sandwiched in between.
After a three-minute scoring drought by both teams, Blake Whittle put Lamar up 30-28 with a putback at 5:46. Williams tied the game with a jumper and Thomas Fairley and Whittle hit consecutive baskets the put Lamar up four, 32-28. A Josh Goodwin jumper gave Lamar a 36-33 halftime lead.
Chappell netted a career-high for the third straight game. He was 6-of-9 from the field, including a blistering 6-of-7 from 3-point range, in scoring his 20 points. Fairley added 15 points and nine rebounds. Whittle scored 13 points off the bench on 4-of-8 shooting. Matthew Barrow added 10 points and a career-high eight assists.
Lamar shot 48.1 percent from the field, 52.9 percent from 3-point range and 56.7 percent from the free throw line.
Williams was 12-of-20 from the field, including 6-of-12 from 3-point range, in scoring 30 points. He also grabbed a game-high seven rebounds and had three steals. Darris Manciel scored 14 points and grabbed six rebounds. Ryan Price added 10 points off the bench.
McNeese shot 46.2 percent from the field, 44 percent from 3-point range and 75 percent from the free throw line. The Cowboys gained a slim 36 to 34 edge in rebounds, which led to a 22 to 16 advantage in second chance points. McNeese also outscored the Cardinals 30 to 20 in points in the paint.
