Box Score Feb. 16, 2015

Box Score

BEAUMONT, Texas - Sophomore Marcus Owens scored 20 points, and senior Tyran de Lattibeaudiere added 16 points and 14 rebounds, as the Lamar Cardinals held on to beat Houston Baptist, 72-64, in a thriller Monday evening at the Montagne Center. The victory moves Lamar to 13-12 overall, and 7-6 in Southland Conference play, and moves the Cards a game ahead of the Huskies in conference play.

"You have to give a lot of credit to Houston Baptist tonight," said head coach Tic Price. "We had a double-digit lead in the second half and they never stopped fighting. We knew they wouldn't quit just because we had a 13-point lead at halftime. HBU is a very talented team and they never quit. It was very similar to our game at their place.

"I felt like our defense turned the game around early on. We were able to force them into some turnovers, and scored some points off those turnovers. I'm very proud of our effort tonight. We played with a collective will."

The Cardinals finished the night shooting 44 percent from the field, including nearly 52 percent in the opening half. LU also outrebounded the Huskies by two, 36-34. Lamar finished the night outshooting their opponents by holding their Huskies to a 24-of-56 (.429) performance, including 5-of-18 (.579) from beyond the arc.

The game was tight through the first 11:34 of the contest with both teams getting the lead, but neither team gaining more than a five-point advantage. Leading by only a point the Cardinals went on the first run of the game rattling off eight consecutive points sparked by two Owens' three-pointers. The Cardinals would push that lead to as many as 15 points in the final minute of the opening half before HBU scored to cut the advantage to 13 points heading into the locker room.

The Cardinals did not want to see the half come to a close knocking down 15-of-29 (.517) shots, including a 4-of-10 effort from beyond the arc. When the Cards did miss a shot more often than not they came up with the loose ball - outrebounding HBU, 18-11, including seven offensive boards.

Lamar's defense wreaked havoc on HBU holding the Huskies to 9-of-22 attempts (.409) from the field, and just two three-pointers. Big Red's defense also caused HBU to cough up the ball 12 times leading to 11 points.

Unfortunately for Lamar, it wasn't more of the same to start the second half. In fact, it appeared the two teams switched roles as the Huskies came out with the energy. Houston Baptist trimmed the lead to single digits less than five minutes into the half. The lead was trimmed to eight before Lamar got an and-one from senior Anthony Holliday followed by a layup from Owens. LU pushed the advantage to 14 points before the Huskies began to chip away at the lead again.

The Huskies outscored Lamar, 11-5, over the next 5:02 of the game to pull within eight points, 56-48, with more than nine minutes on the clock. The run was capped by a Jourdan Stickler three-pointer. It was one of only two field goals for Stickler on the night.

After a Lamar free throw got the lead back to nine, HBU rattled off six-straight points to pull within three with 6:33 on the clock. Following a Lamar timeout, the Cards again turned to Owens who hit a layup to move the advantage to five points, 59-54. The Huskies followed the LU basket with a Tyler Russell three-pointer just 34 seconds later to pull within two with 5:06 on the clock, but that would be as close as HBU could get.

The made three-pointer seemed to turn a light switch on for Lamar, and off for HBU. The Cardinals responded by rattling off seven unanswered points, hitting some key free throws down the stretch and eventually pushing its advantage back to double digits before picking up the eight-point win.

In addition to de Lattibeaudiere's double-double he also blocked six shots. Senior Anthony Holliday scored 18 points and dished out four assists. The Cardinals also got nine points and four rebounds from Quan Jones as he made a return to the starting lineup.

HBU finished the night with three players in double digits led by Anthony Odunsi's 12 points. Reveal Chukwujekwu scored 11 and pulled down a team-high six rebounds, while Colter Lasher chipped in 10.

The Cardinals return to action Saturday to take on rival McNeese State. The game against the Cowboys is slated to tip off at 6 p.m. from the Montagne Center.

-LAMAR-