Box Score Jan. 24, 2015

Box Score

BEAUMONT, Texas - Senior Anthony Holliday scored a career-high 30 points, but the Lamar Cardinals were edged by Houston Baptist, 79-77, Saturday night at Sharp Gym. The loss drops Lamar to 10-9 on the season and 4-3 in Southland Conference play.

"I want to give our guys credit," said head coach Tic Price. "We didn't quit, and had some chances down the stretch but came up short. We dug ourselves too big of hole tonight. We gave up 48 points in the first half, and they shot nearly 58 percent. You can't allow those things to happen on the road and hope to win. In games like this you have to be tough minded and hit some shots to keep the crowd out of the game.

"This is a team that is still growing, and still maturing, but we have to learn how to win in environments like this," added Price.

Led by Holliday's career performance - which saw him score 23 of his 30 in the second half - Lamar finished the night 26-of-55 (.473) from the field, but got little help from the outside. LU was 3-of-17 (.176) from three-point range, including a 1-of-11 performance in the final 20 minutes. Although the Huskies cooled off in the second half, they still managed to shoot nearly 46 percent from the field following a 15-of-26 (.577) showing in the first half. The Huskies also outrebounded Lamar, 31-29.

The Cardinals jumped out to a quick start offensively connecting on 9-of-12 (.750) attempts, but couldn't shake Houston Baptist, because the Huskies were equally as impressive from the field. HBU hit on six of their first 11 attempts, and trailed by only five, 19-14, with less than 12 minutes remaining in the opening half.

The Cardinals were doing the majority of their damage from close range early. Sixteen of Lamar' first 19 points came in the paint as the Cardinals didn't attempt a three-point shot until the 11:14 mark of the first half. The Cards hit their first triple on the very next possession when Dontavious Sears came off the bench to bury a three from the left wing.

HBU took the lead on a three-pointer with 6:30 remaining before halftime. The triple came in the midst of a 20-5 run as the Huskies built a double-digit advantage. Although the Cardinals never cooled off in the opening half shooting 14-of-28 (.500), they were hurt by some late turnovers. LU turned the ball over eight times in the first 20 minutes which the Huskies converted into 14 points. Houston Baptist closed out the half connecting on nearly 58 percent of their shots and went a perfect 17-of-17 from the free throw line.

The Cardinals opened the second half connecting on three of their first seven, while the Huskies missed their first four attempts. HBU didn't convert its first field goal of the half until the 14:54 mark. LU began to chip away at the deficit, cutting it to seven, with 15:49 remaining.

But after missing their first three triples of the second half HBU responded to the Lamar surge knocking down three of their next four attempts from beyond the arc building their advantage back to double digits, 60-47, with 11:09 to play.

The Cardinals responded to HBU's three-point barrage with poise. Again, the Cards began to slowly chip away at the deficit cutting it to four with just under six to play. Lamar cut the Huskies' lead down to one point, 71-70, with 2:45 remaining but could never get over the hump. The Cardinals had the lead to one three times in the final 2:45 but could never hit the go-ahead basket.

Lamar was able to make its run by continuing its hot shooting in the second half. The Cardinals came out of the locker room hitting nine of their first 18 attempts. The Cardinals held their hosts to 35 percent during that same stretch.

Senior Tyran de Lattibeaudiere was the only other Cardinal in double figures. The Jamaican native scored 17 points and pulled down a team-high six rebounds, while three other Cardinals added eight points. HBU was led by Tyler Russell and Anthony Odunsi who chipped in 16 each.

The Cardinals return to action Monday to host league-leading Stephen F. Austin. The game against the Lumberjacks is slated to begin at 7 p.m. from the Montagne Center.

-LAMAR-