Box Score Jan. 12, 2011
Box Score
BEAUMONT - A desperation 3-pointer by junior Brandon Davis was off the mark, allowing McNeese State to hang on for a hard-fought 78-76 Southland Conference basketball victory over Lamar University on Wednesday night at the Montagne Center.
The Cardinals, who fell to 7-8 on the year and 1-1 in SLC action, led 73-66 with 4:29 to play in the game. The Cowboys (10-5, 2-0) closed the game with a 12-3 run to pick up their first road win of the season, and first in Beaumont since Jan. 4, 2006.
Unfortunately for the Cardinals, Lamar started the game down 2-0 after Devon Lamb was whistled for a technical foul for dunking in pregame warm-ups. The Cowboys' Diego Kapelan knocked down both free throws which turned out to be the difference in the game.
Kapelan hit another pair of free throws with 2:05 to play in the game that gave McNeese a 75-73 lead, its first of the second half and capped a 9-0 run. Senior Coy Custer responded for Lamar with a layup and free throw just 15 seconds later that put the Cards back up by one, 76-75.
Kapelan, who finished with 14 points and five rebounds, gave McNeese the lead for good at 77-76 with 1:24 to play on a tough elbow jump shot.
"I thought going down the stretch when we had a seven-point lead, we started making some bad decisions offensively," said LU head coach Steve Roccaforte. "They proved critical to us. We had some critical turnovers. We made some bad decisions with the ball.
"When Brandon decided to drive the baseline when he had no place to go was a huge play. We started the game giving them two technical foul shots, and that was another huge mistake, especially when the game winds up being a two-point game."
Lamar still had a chance to snatch the victory as senior guard Kendrick Harris went to the free throw line with 11 seconds to play and the Cards down by one. Harris missed both free throws, only to see Custer grab an offensive rebound. Orlando Brazier had a look for the lead with five seconds on the clock, but it would not go down.
McNeese's P.J. Alawoya secured the defensive rebound and was fouled, hitting 1-of-2 from the line to close out the scoring.
"This one is disappointing to me, and it's very disappointing to the players," noted Roccaforte. "I thought the guys played hard the whole game. I thought Kendrick Harris would make both free throws when there were 11 seconds left, but it didn't happen."
The Cowboys led by as many as 10 points in the first half after getting off to a torrid shooting start. However, Lamar closed the half on a 15-2 run, ended by a Harris 3-pointer with four seconds on the clock, to give the Cardinals a 42-39 halftime advantage.
McNeese still shot 53.3 percent from the floor in the first half, but managed only 36.7 percent shooting after the break as Lamar tightened its defense. The Cowboys were a sharp 18-of-22 from the free throw line, and outrebounded Lamar 40-34 on the night.
The Cardinals, who will look to bounce back at UT Arlington on Saturday night, shot just 31.0 percent in the second half from the field and 40.0 percent for the game.
Harris led all scorers with 15 points, while Davis added 14 and Brazier finished with 12 points and eight boards. Leading scorer Mike James came into the game averaging 16.6 points per game, but was just 1-of-6 from the field for four points.
Alawoya finished with a double-double for McNeese with 13 points and 11 rebounds. Patrick Richard added 13 points and six boards, while Stephan Martin finished with 14 off the bench.
LAMAR
