Box Score Jan. 29, 2011
Box Score
THIBODAUX, La. - Devon Lamb notched his fifth double-double in the Cardinals' last eight games, but Lamar could not overcome a poor shooting first half on Saturday afternoon at Stopher Gym as Nicholls picked up a 78-71 Southland Conference basketball victory.
Lamar (9-11, 3-3 in the SLC) trailed 33-23 at the half, and by as many as 15 points in the second half. A Lamb fast break layup capped a furious 22-5 Cardinal run that gave Lamar a 50-48 lead with 8:45 to play in the game.
"I thought we did a great job of coming back," said LU head coach Steve Roccaforte. "After falling behind in the first half with poor shooting and too many turnovers, we were right there at the end. We just have to build on our positives for Wednesday night (vs. Southeastern Louisiana)."
The Colonels responded with a 7-0 run over the next two minutes to grab a five-point lead. Anthony Miles' layup with 5:09 to play got the Cardinals to within one, but the Colonels would not give up the lead.
NSU built an eight-point lead with 47 seconds to play. Miles, who finished with 13 points, hit a layup and was fouled by NSU's Anatoly Bose with 40 seconds of the clock. The junior guard would make the free throw, followed by a pair of Tremell Adams free throws with 29 seconds to play got the Cardinals to within three.
The Cardinals would not score again, and Ben Martin and Kenny Franklin, Jr. would each hit a pair of free throws to close the game out for NSU.
Senior guard Kendrick Harris sparked the Cards' second half run. Harris scored 17 of his 19 points in the second half, including making all four of his 3-pointers. The 6-footer scored 11 of Lamar's first 13 points after intermission.
Lamar shot just 34.6 percent from the floor in the first half, including 1-of-11 aim from 3-point range. LU found its touch after the break, shooting 51.9 percent from the floor, 54.5 percent from long distance and a sparkling 14-of-15 from the free throw line.
The Cardinals entered Saturday's game as the top rebounding team in the SLC at 43.3 rebounds per game, while NSU was 12th at 28.6. However, the Colonels more than held their own on the glass, trailing just 35-32 in rebounds for the game.
The Cards, who were coming off a season-low eight turnovers on Wednesday against Northwestern State, gave it away 18 times on Saturday. The Colonels were able to take advantage, outscoring LU 24-15 in points off turnovers.
Lamb was an efficient 6-of-9 from the floor, making a pair of 3-pointers in 40 minutes of work. His second trey came after getting fouled by Bose with 2:09 on the clock. Lamb would hit the free throw to complete the four-point play, but he was just 2-of-6 from the free throw line.
The 6-foot-2 Lamb came into Saturday averaging a league-best 12.0 rebounds per game in SLC play.
Redshirt freshman Osas Ebomwonyi made his first career start, finishing with five rebounds and four blocked shots in 13 minutes of action.
NSU's big two of Bose and Fred Hunter lived up to the billing as each scored 22 points. However, the Colonels got a career-high matching 14 points from Martin and 10 points and eight assists from Kellan Carter which proved to be the difference.
Bose, the leading scorer in the SLC, scored nine of his 22 points over a 50-second span late in the second half. He would add eight rebounds, while Hunter finished with a team-best nine boards.
Lamar, which lost a Southland Conference game on the road for the first time this season, will host Southeastern Louisiana on Wednesday night at 7:05.
LAMAR
