Jan. 24, 2009

Box Score

SAN MARCOS, Texas - Lamar got out to an early lead and held off a late Texas State charge in a very physical game to snap a three-game losing streak with a 71-65 road win at Strahan Coliseum on Saturday.

Jay Brown posted his sixth double-double of the season - third in Southland Conference play - with a team-high 16 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Cardinals. Brandon McThay came off the bench to score 14 points and Ashton Hall posted his third-consecutive double-figure game with 13 points.

Lamar (11-7, 2-3 SLC) shot 49 percent as it snapped a four-game conference road losing streak and a five-game road skein overall. The Cardinals shot just 63 percent from the free throw line and committed 24 turnovers (which TSU managed just 10 points off of) but had one of their better defensive efforts of the season.

They held Texas State (8-10, 1-4 SLC) to its second-lowest point total of the year and 21 points below its average. Texas State got 19 points and 13 rebounds from Cameron Johnson and 13 points from John Rybak. Brent Benson, the Bobcats' leading scorer at 16.9 points, was held to just four points on 1-of-10 shooting and 0-for-6 from outside.

Texas State shot just 35 percent and made four 3-pointers - the third time this season they have made four or fewer.

Texas State opened up a slimi 10-7 lead 3:25 into the game before Lamar went on an 11-2 run to take a 18-12 advantage. The Cardinals never trailed the remainder of the game and led by as many as 15 with just over two minutes to play in the first half on a McThay fastbreak tip-in.

The Bobcats played their physical game throughout the second half and were able to force Lamar to score from the free throw line. As the LU lead was slimmed down to single-digits, the Cardinals shot 67 percent in the second half and made 5-of-7 to close out the game.

Lamar will have a pair of home games next week in the Montagne Center. Wednesday's contest with Sam Houston State will tip-off at 7:05 p.m.