Box Score Nov. 19, 2014 Box Score
SAN MARCOS, Texas - The Lamar Cardinals opened the second half on a 9-2 run to cut a double-digit deficit down to six points, and got as close as five numerous times, but was unable to reclaim the advantage against Texas State falling to the Bobcats (2-0), 65-55, Wednesday evening at Strahan Coliseum.
"This was a tough loss," said head coach Tic Price. "I thought we did some good things, but it is tough to overcome 20 turnovers. You can't make mistakes like that and hope to win at this level. We went through long stretches without scoring, which put us in a situation where we couldn't set up our press. That hurt us because we were able to force them into some mistakes with the press."
The Cardinals finished the game knocking down nearly 40 percent of their shots, including a 6-of-17 (.353) effort from beyond the arc. The Bobcats were able to overcome 23 turnovers by shooting 50 percent (21-of-42) from the field. The Cards also got solid play off the bench as the LU's reserves outscored the Texas State backups, 16-8.
Texas State was 6-of-12 (.500) to start the game building an early six point lead. The Bobcats went on a run connecting on four of their next seven attempts to build a 12-point advantage, 24-12, with 4:30 remaining in the opening half.
The Cardinals had trimmed the lead to 11 and had the ball with less than 30 seconds remaining but turned the ball over before getting off an attempt. Lamar went into the locker room trailing by 13 points, 30-17.
Turnovers were an issue for both squads in the opening half. Although the Bobcats had more turnovers (13) than Lamar, Texas State caused more damage from LU's miscues. Texas State scored nine points off Lamar's turnovers, while Big Red converted Texas State's mistakes into just seven points.
Lamar opened the second half with the 9-2 run, to pull within six, 32-26, early in the second half. The Bobcats were able to get the lead back to 10 before Preston Mattingly hit a couple of jumpers in the second half to cut the lead back to five points.
With senior Anthony Holliday on the bench, the Cardinals found new weapons to keep Texas State within striking distance every time they made a run. Mattingly hit 4-of-6 attempts to finish the game with a career-high 10 points, classmate Marcus Owens buried three triples in a starting role, while Sour Lake, Texas freshman Zjori Bosha came off the bench to knock down a couple of threes. The added punch to the lineup allowed Lamar to cut a 13-point deficit with just under eight minutes remaining down to six points, 54-48, with four to play. But, the Cardinals were unable to get any closer as Texas State held on for its second win of the season.
Senior Tyran de Lattibeaudiere led the way with 14 points for Lamar. He also pulled down a team-high five rebounds to go along with eight blocks and two steals. The Bobcats were led by 19 points from JeMarcus Weatherspoon.
The Cardinals return to action Saturday when they travel to Bloomington, Ind., to take on the Hoosiers. The game against the Indiana will tip off at 7 p.m.
-LAMAR-
