HOUSTON, Texas – Senior Josh Nzeakor reached a career milestone becoming the 21^st player in Lamar University history to reach 1,000 points, but the Cardinals fell short at Houston, 79-56, Tuesday evening at the Fertitta Center. The loss drops LU a game under .500 on the season at 4-5, while Houston remains undefeated (7-0).
 
A run by Houston late in the first half turned out to be the difference in the game as LU had the ball down one after forcing a third consecutive turnover but couldn't convert and the Cougars responded with a 15-0 run. Big Red never had an answer for the run playing point-for-point with Houston in the second half. The Cougars outscored LU but only by four, 35-31, in the final 20 minutes of action.
 
The Cardinals shot 20-of-66 (.467) from the field but struggled to find the range from three converting just 9-of-32 three-point attempts (.281) and just one in the second half (1-of-10).
 
Houston finished the night 28-of-60 (.467) from the field but also struggled on three-pointers in the second half. The Cougars were 9-of-32 (.281) on three-pointers but just 1-of-13 (.077) in the second half.
 
The Cardinals were led by Nzeakor's 12 points and six rebounds. He was one of three Cardinals in double figures – Edwin Jeudy (11 points) and Nick Garth (10). Houston was led by 20 points from Galen Robinson, Jr.
 
"Houston is a team with their eyes on advancing to the NCAA tournament and they played like it tonight," said LU head coach Tic Price. "Houston is a very talented team. They've already won a lot of games this season and they're going to win a lot more. They do a real good job of playing to their strengths. At the end of the day Houston gave better effort than we did for 40 minutes."
 
The Cardinals got on the scoreboard first after junior Jordan Hunter forced a turnover following the opening tip and took it the distance for a layup. The lead was short lived as LU opened the game three of its first seven. The Cardinals led by a point (8-7) before Houston went on a 8-0 run to take a 15-7 advantage.
 
The Cougars didn't surrender the lead for the remainder of the half, but LU made a run midway through the half. Big Red forced turnovers on three consecutive possessions to pull within a point, 20-19, behind a 9-2 run. Unfortunately, the Cardinals came away emptyhanded after the third turnover and UH responded with a run of its own.
 
Led by 10 first-half points from Galen Robinson, Jr. and Nate Hinton, the Cougars rattled off a 15-0 run to build a 30-19 advantage. The UH run coincided with a 3-of-14 (.214) stretch for the Red and White. The Cougars pushed their lead to as many as 21 before taking a 44-25 lead into the locker room.
 
The Cardinals finished the opening half 10-of-41 (.323) from the field, but just a 3-of-11 (.273) clip from beyond the arc. UH knocked down 50 percent of their attempts in the opening half (17-of-34), including an 8-of-19 (.421) effort from three-point range. Houston dominated the glass gaining a 29-13 advantage.
 
Both teams struggled to start the second half of action. LU converted just two of its first 14 attempts, while the Cougars were just two of eight. LU never found its rhythm in the final 20 minutes converting just seven of their first 28 (.250), while Houston began to heat up knocking down eight of its first 18 in the half. Unfortunately, the Cards could get no closer than 18 in the second half as Houston picked up its seventh-straight victory to start the season.
 
The Cardinals return to action Thursday, Dec. 13^th when they travel to Bakersfield, Calif. to take on Cal State Bakersfield. The game against the Roadrunners will tip off at 7 p.m. (9 p.m. Beaumont time) from Bakersfield.