Box Score Dec. 19, 2010
Box Score
LAFAYETTE, La. -- Lamar junior Charlie Harper had a double-double on Sunday of 15 points and 11 rebounds, but it was not enough as the Cardinals fell to long-time rival Louisiana-Lafayette 68-65 in basketball action from the Cajundome.
Lamar fell to 5-5 on the year with the loss and will play host to Canisius on Wednesday evening at 7:05 from the Montagne Center. The Ragin' Cajuns, who inched ahead in the all-time series with Lamar 41-40, improved to 2-8 on the year.
After leading 33-29 at the half, the Cardinals came out cold in the second half. The Cajuns opened the half on a 7-0 run and led 36-33 before Harper finally hit a jumper with 15:44 to play to cut it to a one point deficit.
The Cajuns were not done, however, as a J.J. Thomas jumper with 11:01 to play capped a 17-6 run that gave UL a 12-point lead.
"We knew it was going to be a tough game," said LU head coach Steve Roccaforte. "This is a really tough place to play and they're really long and athletic. If you look at the stats, though, it was free throw shooting that really let us down."
Lamar came into Sunday's game shooting a solid 72.9 percent from the free throw line as a team, but connected on just 15-of-28 (53.6 percent) against the Cajuns. The Cards especially struggled in the second half, making just 11-of-22.
Still down 12 with 10 minutes to play, Lamar went on an 18-8 run over the next six and a half minutes to cut the Cajuns' lead to 63-61 with 3:41 to play in the game. Senior guard Kendrick Harris rattled home a 3-pointer to close the run, his only field goal in the game.
Harper missed a 3-pointer with eight seconds to play, and Harris misfired on a three just four seconds later that came off a Lamar offensive rebound. Harper grabbed the Harris miss and was fouled on his put back attempt. After missing the first free throw, Harper missed the second on purpose. Scottie Farrington secured the rebound and the win for the Cajuns.
Louisiana, which did not make a field goal over the final 7:04 seconds of the game, was able to make just enough free throws down the stretch to hang on for the victory. Raymone Andrews hit a pair of free throws with 19 seconds to play that closed out the scoring.
"Despite our poor shooting, the game still went right down to the wire," said Roccaforte. "We've had a few close games like this and hopefully that will help us get ready for the conference season. We gave ourselves a chance to win, but just didn't execute down the stretch like we need to."
Lamar did a good job on the boards, grabbing 21 offensive rebounds and scoring 15 second chance points, Six of Harper's season-high 11 rebounds were offensive, and junior guard Devon Lamb grabbed five of his nine rebounds off the offensive glass for the Cardinals.
The Cardinals' aggressive full-court press forced the Cajuns into early turnovers and Lamar took advantage in the first half. Tremell Adams, who got his first start of the year for LU, buried a 3-pointer with 4:59 to play in the first half that gave the Cards a 30-19 advantage.
The Cajuns committed 13 turnovers in the first half before settling down in the second half. UL turned it over just five times in the second half and shot a very efficient 48.0 percent from the field over the final 20 minutes.
Junior guard Anthony Miles hit his first four shots in the game before finishing with 12 points on 5-of-13 shooting. Miles added six rebounds and four assists. Lamb finished with nine points and nine rebounds off the LU bench.
Senior post Coy Custer added 10 points and five rebounds in a season-high 30 minutes of playing time.
The Cajuns got an offensive boost when leading scorer Josh Brown returned to the lineup for the first time since a Nov. 23 loss at Houston. Brown connected on 8-of-14 shots en route to a career-high 20 points. Bryant Mbamalu added seven points and a team-high 11 boards.
LAMAR
