Box Score Nov. 13, 2011
Box Score | Lamar at No. 9 Louisville 
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Lamar University made a late run Sunday afternoon at the KFC Yum! Center, but it could not overcome one of the worst shooting performances in school history as it fell 68-48 to No. 9 Louisville in men's basketball action.
LU put a scare into the crowd of 19,842 as it cut the Louisville lead to just eight points with 5:58 to play on a Mike James pull-up jumper from 15 feet that made the score 52-44. Peyton Siva was fouled by Lamar's Osas Ebomwonyi 21 seconds later, and knocked down a pair of free throws that pushed UL's lead back to double figures. Lamar would get no closer as Louisville closed the game on a 16-4 run.
Lamar, which fell to 1-1 on the year, will continue play in the Global Sports Invitational at Ohio on Tuesday evening. Game time is scheduled for 6 p.m. CST against the Bobcats who opened the season on Sunday with a 74-65 win over Tennessee-Martin.
"We need to do a better job from a shooting standpoint, but from an effort standpoint and from defense, I was really proud of the guys," said head coach Pat Knight who received his first technical foul at Lamar. "If I had my choice, I'd rather have them do that because we can always work on offense."
Despite the loss, the game will be a special one for Lamar senior Anthony Miles. Though the 6-foot-1 guard only finished with six points before fouling out, his only field goal on the day made him the 19th player in school history to reach the 1,000-point plateau. Ironically, his bucket didn't go through the hoop as it was goal tended by UL's Chane Behanan.
Lamar shot just 23.1 percent from the floor in the game, including a paltry 18.2 percent in the first half, for the fifth worst shooting day in school history. LU managed to hit just 3-of-19 from 3-point range, and was even a disappointing 15-of-27 from the free throw line.
"They get a hand up on you," said Knight about the Cardinals' shooting woes. "They get you going too fast. By playing that matchup zone, the kids come down and they get confused. Instead of just running the man-to-man offense against it, the kids just want to back up and try to figure out if it's a zone or not. Their defense takes you out of rhythm; we could not get into a rhythm. We missed some open looks, but a lot of that is they get you out of your rhythm."
Senior forward Charlie Harper hit a pair of free throws just 1:52 into the game that gave Lamar a 5-2 lead. UL responded with an 11-2 run over the next six minutes that pushed the home team ahead 13-7. Louisville's lead reached as high as 16 points in the first half before it took a 36-23 lead into the locker room.
UL's Jared Swopshire threw down a dunk with 13:03 to play in the game to open a 20-point lead at 47-27, and it looked as though Lamar would go away quietly. That was when Lamar started its 17-5 run over the next seven minutes to get the lead to eight.
"I told them don't lay over," said Knight about trailing by 20 in the second half. "Let's make it interesting. We cut it down to under 10 and that puts a little pressure on the home team. I was really proud of the guys for not giving up."
Despite a size disparity, Lamar was only outrebounded 49-44 in the game. LU grabbed 21 rebounds off the offensive glass, and finished even with UL in second chance points at 14 points apiece. Lamar committed just 11 turnovers and was only outscored 10-7 in points off turnovers.
"I thought we played a very tough team," said Louisville head coach Rick Pitino. "They're a very tough, physical team with four seniors and a junior in their starting lineup. It is tough, that is a BIG EAST tough team. It was a good test for us early. We knew that after one day of prep, it wasn't going to be an easy game."
Devon Lamb led Lamar in scoring with 10 points, also grabbing eight rebounds and picking up two of Lamar's eight steals. Brandon Davis came off the Lamar bench to score nine, and Harper added seven points and nine rebounds. Osas Ebomwonyi was solid off the Lamar bench, posting career-highs with six points and nine rebounds.
Four UL players scored in double-figures, with Swopshire taking team-high honors off the bench with 13. He added eight rebounds in just 24 minutes of playing time. Behanan posted a double-double in just his second collegiate game with 10 points and 13 rebounds.
LAMAR
