Box Score Nov. 20, 2010
Box Score
DALLAS - Senior guard Kendrick Harris scored a career-high 25 points, and Lamar made a furious late-game rally, but it was not enough to overcome a double-digit halftime deficit as the Cardinals fell 102-98 on Saturday in their second game of the SMU Basketball Invitational.
The Cardinals, who fell to 2-1 on the season, will take on the host Mustangs on Sunday evening at 7 to close out the tournament. SMU is 2-0 all-time against Lamar, defeating the Cardinals 67-56 during the 1999-2000 season and 92-70 the following year.
The biggest second half deficit came at 63-50 with 18:11 to play. A Vincenzo Nelson jumper capped a 21-10 Lamar run over the next seven minutes that got the Cardinals to within two at 73-71.
"We had great effort in the second half," said LU head coach Steve Roccaforte. "We rebounded a lot better and got to a lot more loose balls and that allowed us to get ourselves back in the game."
The Vikings responded with a spurt of their own and looked as though they would put the game away after opening a 93-83 lead with just 3:46 to play in the game.
The Cardinals increased their full-court pressure, holding PSU to just three points over the next minute and a half. Vincenzo Nelson hit a driving layup and the Cardinals found themselves down just one at 96-95 with 1:23 to play in the game.
Lamar trailed by three with the ball with 25 seconds to play but a missed Coy Custer 3-pointer with 17 seconds to go allowed the Vikings to push it back to five after a pair of Charles Odum free throws.
Harris knocked down his third 3-pointer of the game to cut it to 100-98 with seven seconds to play, but Melvin Jones calmly stepped to the line and knocked down a pair of free throws that put the game away.
The Cardinals defense struggled to control the paint in the first half as PSU opened a 59-48 advantage at the break. The Vikings shot a healthy 61.3 percent from the floor in the first half, getting several of their points from inside the paint.
The Cardinals opened the game on an 11-4 run with Harris scoring seven of the points. His 25 points came on 7-of-17 shooting and bested his previous career-high of 24 that he scored against Texas-Pan American last season.
"I thought Kendrick played a great game for us tonight," said Roccaforte. "He came out strong and hit some big shots for us."
Lamar shot a solid 46.8 percent from the field in the game, but made just 6-of-23 from 3-point range in the loss. As has been the case in the early going for Lamar, the Cardinals took good care of the ball, committing just 13 turnovers despite the fast pace.
PSU (2-1) knocked down 54.8 percent of its shots in the game and was an efficient 6-of-12 from long distance.
In addition to his 25 points, Harris dished out four assists and went a perfect 8-of-8 from the free throw line. Junior guard Charlie Harper added 19 points and seven rebounds for the Cardinals, while Nelson scored 13 off the bench in just 22 minutes.
The Vikings placed five players in double-figures with Chris Harriel leading the group at 23 points. Chehales Tapscott added 19 points and a game-high 13 rebounds.
LAMAR
