BEAUMONT, Texas – Senior center LeMon Gregory recorded his second-career double-double as the Lamar University Cardinals pulled away from Idaho State late Saturday evening for an 82-70 victory in the Montagne Center. Gregory set career highs in points (21) and rebounds (11) as the Cardinals (4-3) picked up their second-straight win.
 
"This was a big win for us tonight," said head coach Tic Price. "They are a very good three-point shooting team, and we were able to hold them to 21 percent from beyond the arc. I guess that is why they started driving to the basket more. That is one of the best teams we're going to play in terms of attacking the basket. It's something we're going to have to continue to work on."
 
"LeMon (Gregory) played really for us tonight. We have several perimeter guys who can shoot the three, and when those started to fall it opened things up for us under the basket and LeMon took advantage," added Price.
 
The Cardinals shot nearly 50 percent (25-of-52) from the field, while knocking down six three-pointers on the night. Although Idaho State was 22-of-53 (.415) from the field, they were held to just a 4-of-19 (.211) performance from beyond the arc.
 
Despite being outrebounded by five, the Cardinals took advantage of their depth off the bench as well as some miscues by the Bengals. ISU turned the ball over 16 times which the Cardinals converted into 21 points to finish the night +11 in that category. Big Red's bench outscored the Bengals' reserves by nearly 30 points, 43-15.
 
Things started out rough for the Cardinals as the representatives from the Big Sky Conference slowly built a double-digit first-half lead. Trailing by one five minutes into the half, ISU went on a 25-6 run capped by an Ethan Telfair three-pointer to take an eight-point lead with just under 8:30 remaining before halftime. The Bengals upped their lead to 11 after Gary Chivichyan followed suit with another ISU three just over a minute later.
 
It was that three that seemed to wake up the Cardinals, as the Red and White used the final seven minutes of the half to chip away at the deficit. LU had Idaho State's lead trimmed to six with 6:04 remaining until half. Trailing by seven, Gregory cut the margin to five after dunk on a pass from sophomore Kevin Booze. Gregory added a layup on the next possession and then went 1-of-2 at the free throw line on the following possession to trim the lead to two, 34-32, with just under three minutes on the clock.
 
Freshman Nick Garth – who kept his streak of double-digit scoring performances to start the season alive – hit one of his four three-pointers on the night to give LU its first lead since the 14:55 mark. The Cardinals closed out the half with a dunk from junior Lincoln Davis to take a three-point lead into the locker room, 39-36.
 
The Cards didn't start the second half the way they ended the first. ISU opened the second half by reclaiming a one-point advantage. The game went back and forth for the first 10 minutes of the second half as both teams traded baskets. The Cards were able to gain a two possession lead with 9:25 remaining after Gregory hit a layup.
 
After LU pushed its lead to seven points, the Bengals got consecutive baskets from Kyle Ingram to cut the lead back to three with four minutes remaining, but it was all Big Red after that. The Cardinals closed out the contest by rattling off an 11-2 run for the final score. Booze closed out the contest by hitting free throws to give the Cards a 12-point lead which was their biggest of the night.
 
Garth came off the bench to score 18 points on 6-of-11 (.545) shooting, while Davis added 16 points, seven rebounds and four assists. Booze finished the night with 14 points, five assists and three steals.
 
ISU leading scorer Ali Faruq-Bey finished the night with 16 points – below his season average – but was only 3-of-11 from the field, and 0-of-6 from beyond the arc. He did most of his damage at the free throw line where he connected on 10-of-15 attempts.
 
The Cardinals return to action Saturday when they travel to Lynchburg, Va., to take on Liberty. The game will tip off at 2 p.m. (1 p.m. Beaumont time). LU will follow that up with a game against Price's alma mater, Virginia Tech, 25 hours later.
 
-LU CARDINALS-