EDINBURG, Texas – Junior Zjori Bosha came off the bench to score a career-high 21 points, and was one of five Cardinals in double figures but Lamar University couldn't overcome a second-half run by UT Rio Grande Valley. The Cardinals fell to UTRGV, 95-81, Friday evening at the UTRGV Fieldhouse.
 
Trailing by three points early in the second-half, UTRGV used an 18-3 run to turn a three-point deficit into a 12-point advantage and never looked back. The Cardinals never got closer than 12 as the Vaqueros posted their third consecutive victory.
 
"We got beat tonight by not doing the things that we normally do best," said LU head coach Tic Price. "We were backing off our traps and they attacked us and had good rotations. I thought at times we played scared tonight, especially in the second half. We didn't do a good enough job defensively. We knew the first 8 to 10 minutes of the second half would be crucial and we didn't match their intensity."
 
UTRGV caught fire in the second half knocking down 22-of-32 (.688) attempts and finished the game just under 60 percent (.587). The Vaqueros knocked down nine three-pointers (9-of-21/.429), and outrebounded the Cardinals by five, 41-36.
 
UTRGV finished the night with six players in double figures led by Antonio Green's 16 points and 11 rebounds. Lesley Varner Jr. came off the bench to add 15 points and seven rebounds.
 
Junior Colton Weisbrod joined Bosha in double figures with his team leading fourth double-double of the season. He finished the night with 14 points and 14 rebounds, but scored only two points in second half.
 
As a team the Cardinals were 27-of-66 (.409) from the field after rebounding from a slow first half to shoot 46 percent in the second. LU took advantage of UTRGV's carelessness with the basketball. The Vaqueros turned the ball over 21 times and the Cardinals cashed those mistakes in for 24 points.
 
The reserves gave both teams a huge boost Friday. UTRGV got 52 points from its bench, while the Cardinals subs netted 50 points.
 
Neither team got out to great starts in the opening 20 minutes. UTRGV turned the ball over 10 times and LU was stung by inopportune mistakes. Three times in the first three minutes of the game the Cardinals attempted to get the ball to an open player in the low post only to see the ball fumbled out of bounds. UTRGV took advantage to build an eight-point first half lead, but the Cardinals would battle back. LU took its first lead of the game, 19-18, on a free throw from Weisbrod 11 minutes into the game.
 
UTRGV managed to regain the lead and push their advantage to six points with 2:17 remaining. The Cardinals closed out the half on a 9-3 run to tie the contest at 38 heading into the locker room.
 
The pace of the second half started very similar to the first. After a three-pointer from sophomore Nick Garth gave the Cardinals a three-point advantage, 50-47, heading into the under 16-media timeout, the Vaqueros came out of the huddle with a re-energized effort on defense.
 
The Vaqueros went with full court pressure -- which caused LU very few problems in the opening half – coming out of the timeout and it switched the momentum of the game. The Vaqueros were able to force some turnovers out of the pressure and score on the other end of the floor which sparked the 18-3 run.
 
Joining Bosha and Weisbrod in double figures were junior Joey Frenchwood (14 points) and sophomores Dorian Chatman (12 points) and Nick Garth (11 points).
 
Bosha's career-high performance comes in the midst of his best stretch as a Cardinal. He has recorded double-figures in each of his past three games, including his first double-double.
 
The Cardinals return to action Monday when they host Liberty. The game against the Flames will tip off at 7 p.m. from the Montagne Center and can be heard on Newstalk 560 KLVI.
 
-LU CARDINALS-