Box Score Nov. 16, 2014 Box Score
BEAUMONT, Texas - Senior
Tyran de Lattibeaudiere recorded the first double-double of his Lamar career as the Cardinals defeated a talented LSU-Alexandria squad, 78-75, Sunday afternoon at the Montagne Center. The victory improves Lamar to 1-1 on the season as they prepare for a six-game road swing that will keep LU away from home until the middle of December.
"You're always happy to get a win, but it is clear that we have some things to work on," said head coach Tic Price. "I felt like the kids from LSU-Alexandria played their hearts out today. You could tell by the way they played that this was a big game for them. We played back on our heels too much, and I didn't see the energy that I was looking for."
The game was a close struggle early as Lamar could gain nothing larger than a seven-point lead through the first 18 minutes of the game. Leading by three with 1:46 in the first, the Cardinals created a little breathing room by scoring the final eight points of the half to take a 37-26 lead into the intermission.
Despite the advantage, the Cardinals were outshot by their guests in the opening 20 minutes, and only outrebounded LSU-Alexandria by one, 20-19.
The Cardinals scored first in the second half taking a 13-point lead, but that is as big as the advantage would get as LSU-Alexandria began to chip away. The Generals trimmed the lead to six points four minutes into the half, before sophomore Preston Mattingly found de Lattibeaudiere in the paint for a layup.
Following the layup, Lamar pushed its advantage back to double digits only to see their guest cut the lead to three, 61-58, with less than seven minutes remaining. Following two LSU-Alexandria free throws that pulled the Generals within a point with 6:21 remaining, the two teams began a game of punch counter-punch. The lead would jump to a three possession game, only to cut back down to a single possession over the course of the next four minutes.
The deficit was at two with less than a minute remaining when the bottom fell out for the visitors. After LSU-Alexandria's Darius Johnson was called for a foul when it appeared he had stolen the ball, Johnson responded to the call by slamming the ball to the court and was charged with a technical foul.
Lamar hit one of the free throws to take a three-point lead, and then sophomore Marcus Owens got a steal and drew a foul on the other end of the floor to go to the free throw line. Owens hit both charity shots to secure the win. LSU-Alexandria closed out the scoring with a layup at the buzzer.
The Cardinals finished the game shooting 41 percent from the field, but were outshot by LSU-Alexandria (28-of-61/.459). De Lattibeaudiere filled up every column of the stat sheet for Lamar ending the day with 26 points, 10 rebounds, three steals, two blocks and an assist. Classmate Anthony Holliday added 17 points and five rebounds.
The Cardinals return to action Wednesday when they travel to San Marcos, Texas to take on Texas State. The game against the Bobcats is slated to begin at 7 p.m. from Strahan Coliseum.
-LAMAR-
