HOUSTON, Texas – Junior Nick Garth scored a game-high 22 points, and classmate Josh Nzeakor added 19 – all in the second half – as Lamar University recorded an 87-73 victory over Houston Baptist Wednesday evening at Sharp Gym. The victory, LU's 18^th of the season, was the program's first over HBU in Houston in school history.
 
The victory, in conjunction with a McNeese loss to Nicholls, also assured the Cardinals of a spot in the 2018 Southland Conference Championship tournament next month in Katy. It marks the second consecutive year the Cardinals have advanced to the postseason tournament.
 
Big Red overcame a slow start offensively to shoot 30-of-67 (.448) for the game, including a 50 percent effort in the second half. The Cardinals set the nets on fire from long range knocking down 10-of-22 three-pointers (.455).
 
Senior James Harrison also had a strong night for the Cardinals scoring 20 points on 7-of-12 shooting.
 
"We played a much better second half tonight," said LU head coach Tic Price. "We got out to a slow start but didn't allow them to make a huge run. We survived the storm at the start of the game and then settled down. I thought we did a really good job of playing with poise in the second half and making our stops.
 
"This was a big game for our team, because Lamar has never been able to win down here. We talked about how this group had an opportunity to come down here and do something special," added Price.
 
Led by 17 points from David Caraher, the Huskies finished the night shooting 43 percent from the field. The Huskies knocked down six three-pointers on the night but five of them came in the first half.
 
The Cardinals were plagued with another slow start Wednesday as HBU jumped out to an 11-3 start. Big Red hit just one of its first eight attempts and struggled to hold onto the ball turning it over three times in the first four minutes. While LU was struggling from the field, the Huskies opened the game on fire converting four of their first seven shots.
 
The Cardinals turned to their defense to get help on the offensive side of the ball. Senior Joey Frenchwood stepped in the passing lane to take the ball away from the Huskies and immediately found classmate Colton Weisbrod who was sprinting to the other end of the floor for a layup. After another stop, the Cardinals fed the ball in to freshman Jordan Foster who made a nice move in the paint to cut the deficit to four points, 11-7.
 
The basket was the start of a strong half for Foster. The Lafayette, La., native finished with four points, five rebounds and a blocked shot in just seven minutes of action in the opening half.
 
The Cardinals continued to press the issue and took their first lead of the game midway through the opening half on a Garth three-pointer. It was one of six triples for the Cardinals in the opening 20 minutes. LU overcame the slow start to shoot 43 percent from the field (15-of-37). HBU finished the half converting 14-of-32 (.438) attempts.
 
In addition to Foster's strong play, Harrison finished the half with 12 points as the Cardinals took a one-point lead into the locker room, 36-35. Big Red had a much different start to the second half. The Cardinals opened the half on an 11-2 run to build a 10-point advantage forcing HBU to call an early timeout.
 
The timeout helped HBU settle down as they cut the deficit to four with 14:25 remaining, but the Cardinals had an answer. LU responded by pushing the advantage to 14 points, 68-54, with just over 10 minutes remaining. Big Red's answer came from beyond the three-point arc as they got triples from Garth and Harrison to spark a 16-4 run to build a 72-56 lead with just over nine minutes remaining.
 
The Huskies still had fight left as the trimmed the deficit down to nine points, 74-65, with just under five to play. The Red and White forced a stop on the next possession and Garth responded with another three-pointer to push the advantage back to double digits. The Cardinals kept HBU from making a final surge by hitting their free throws down the stretch.
 
"The season is not over. We still have two very tough tests in front of us starting Saturday at SFA," said Price. "I can assure you they haven't forgotten about the game in Beaumont. They will be ready to play and we will have to match their intensity."
 
The Cardinals return to action Saturday when they travel to Nacogdoches, Texas to take on Stephen F. Austin. The game against the Lumberjacks is slated to tip off at 6 p.m. from the William R. Johnson Coliseum.
 
-LU CARDINALS-