Box Score

BEAUMONT, Texas - Senior Anthony Holliday scored a career-high 23 points to help the Lamar Cardinals rally from a double-digit first-half deficit to beat Nicholls, 75-62, Saturday night at the Montagne Center. The victory pushes Lamar's season-long win streak to five games, and moves the Cardinals above the .500 mark (7-6/1-0 Southland) for the first time since the start of the 2011-12 season.

Holliday led an offensive effort for Lamar that finished the night 23-of-52 (.442) from the field, and 6-of-18 (.333) from three-point range. The Cardinals also dominated Nicholls on the glass, 43-30. Lamar did a majority of its damage in the second half. The Cardinals went into the locker room shooting less than 30 percent from the field, but knocked down 15-of-25 (.600) shots in the final 20 minutes of action. Five of Lamar's six three-pointers also came in the second half.

"The first half and the second half were two totally different games," said LU head coach Tic Price. "I thought our 3-2 zone really made a difference, especially down the stretch when we needed to make plays. We forced them to have to shoot with a hand in their face.

"Having said that, I wasn't happy in the first half. They were able to score a lot of points in the paint. We were kind of forced to go to the zone due to some foul trouble but it worked out okay. In the second half, I thought our guys fought hard and we were able to impose our will on them," added Price.

The Cardinals were able to maintain a 36-23 advantage in points in the paint, despite leading scorer Tyran de Lattibeaudiere being in early foul trouble, and fouling out of the game with just nine points.

The first half was sloppy for both teams as Nicholls and Lamar combined for 24 fouls and 29 turnovers. The Cardinals struggled from the field in the opening half connecting on just 8-of-27 (.296) attempts, and only 1-of-9 (.111) from beyond the arc. The Cardinals even struggled from the free throw line (6-of-14/.429).

The Colonels took advantage of Lamar's struggles building a 10-point first half lead. Lamar made a small run late in the opening half to cut the deficit to four points, 26-22, with 2:30 remaining. The Colonels closed the half scoring five of the final six points taking an eight-point advantage into the locker room.

The Cardinals opened the second half with an 8-3 run to cut the deficit to three points, 34-31, less than two minutes in. Lamar kept its foot on the accelerator and took its first lead since early in the first half when Holliday buried one of his seven field goals. The Colonels responded with an Amin Torres layup to reclaim the advantage, and that would be the final lead the visitors would see.

The Cardinals went on an 11-3 run to take a seven-point advantage. Lamar pushed that lead to double digits with less than six minutes on the clock. The Cards still held a 10-point advantage with 2:15 remaining. After struggling from the line in the opening half, Lamar put the game away from the charity stripe down the stretch. The Cardinals connected on their final 10 free throw attempts to win their second Southland game in their last three outings dating back to last year. It was also the first victory in a conference opener for Lamar since the 2011-12 season.

Senior Donovan Ross and freshman Kevin Booze each chipped in 14 points. Sophomore Marcus Owens grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds, while junior Zachary Hollis recorded nine boards.

The Colonels were led by 19 points from Torres. Sam McBeath added 10 points and four rebounds for a Nicholls squad that finished the night 19-of-50 (.380) from the field, and 4-of-25 (.160) from three-point range.

The Cardinals return to action Monday when they travel to New Orleans, La., to take on the UNO Privateers. The game against UNO has been moved to a 7:45 p.m. tip off from Lake Front Arena.

-LAMAR-