Feb. 9, 2010

Box Score

Lamar's 75-46 win over Lyon College at the Montagne Center went just as the coaches must have envisioned it when the schedule was set last summer.

A big win with lots of exciting plays, lots of minutes and experience for a team that is among the youngest in the nation and, most importantly, no injuries to the team's main contributors as the schedule enters the final seven games of the season.

Coy Custer led Lamar (14-11) with 11 points on 4-of-7 shooting, while Anthony Miles, Reggie Mathis and Donte Lopez had 10 each. Justin Wesley came off the bench to net eight points and eight rebounds in 30 minutes of play. In fact, the 46 bench points by the Cards were a season high.

LU also established benchmarks with 55 rebounds, 46 points allowed - for the second-straight game, a 26.2 field goal percentage defense, a 29-point victory margin and its fewest fouls with just nine infractions.

But the biggest beneficiary of the game against the NAIA-member Scots may have been Stan Brown, who has been steadily improving over the past few weeks. The freshman made his first career start and logged 34 minutes while contributing seven points, 10 rebounds, three blocks and two assists - all of which were career highs.

Lamar scored the game's first 13 points in the opening 3:41 and led 26-10 following a pair of free throws from Lopez with 9:46 to play. Following a 3-pointer by Lyon's James Jackson - who finished with a game-high 12 points, the Cards closed the period on a 14-0 run to take a 40-13 lead into the locker room.

LU held Lyon to just 13 points on 13.3 percent shooting. The Cardinals made 10-of-11 free throws before finishing 18-of-23 for the game.

The Cards extended their lead to 32 in the final two minutes before a Custer putback with three tics left provided the final margin.

Lamar has now won 20 of its last 21 non-conference home games and improved to 26-4 in non-league home games over the last four seasons.

Lamar will return to Southland Conference play on Saturday when it travels to San Marcos, Texas, to face Texas State. Tip-off at Strahan Coliseum is set for 4 p.m.