BEAUMONT, Texas – Freshman forward Corey Nickerson came off the bench to score 21 points and pull down 11 rebounds and senior T.J. Atwood added 25 points and eight rebounds as Lamar University defeated Arlington Baptist, 106-61, Friday night at the Montagne Center. The victory moves LU to 2-0 on the young season.
 
"I thought we were very lackadaisical to start the game," said LU head coach Tic Price. "I thought our two freshmen – David Muoka and Corey Nickerson – did a great job in the paint knocking down shots, blocking and altering shots and really provided us with some energy. Overall, I felt like we had too many breakdowns defensively. Our defensive discipline wasn't on point where it should be. We have work to do."
 
The Cardinals shot better than 50 percent from the field (47-of-91/.516) in a game that saw six players hit double figures. Big Red used a 28-of-43 (.651) effort in the second half. Even more impressive than LU's shooting was the fact that they did it without the benefit of the three-point shot.
 
The triple wasn't falling early in the game and the Cards abandoned the long-range jumpers and turned their focus to the paint. The Cardinals finished the night with 74 points in the paint. LU finished the night with just two three pointers, and only attempted four in the second half.
 
The Cardinals used their size to gain a huge advantage on the glass. Big Red outrebounded ABU, 55-36 on the night.
 
A point of emphasis following the season opener was to cut down on the turnovers – message received. The Cardinals turned the ball over just nine times Friday, compared to 26 for the Patriots.
 
"We cleaned up the turnovers from the first night," added Price. "Our assist-to-turnover ratio was about 2-to-1, which is good for us, but we can't have lapses at the other end of the floor where we give teams second chances. When we build a leads we have to learn to put people away."
 
ABU finished the night shooting 22-of-60 (.367) from the field and held to a 6-of-23 (.261) performance from three-point range.
 
Atwood and Nickerson were joined in double figures by freshmen David Muoka (10 points in his first career start) and Ayaan Sohail (12 points), sophomore Davion Buster (12 points) and Ellis Jefferson (11 points). Jefferson also dished out five assists and was one of four players who recorded at least four assists.
 
The Cardinals started slow as ABU jumped out to a 9-3 lead. The Red and White tied the game on a Buster three-pointer at the 13:18 mark and took the lead on a Buster jumper in the paint just seconds later and never looked back. The Cardinals pushed their advantage to 16 by half time. LU opened the second half on a 27-4 run and Arlington Baptist never seriously threatened after that.
 
The Cardinals will be back in action Tuesday when they travel to Pittsburgh, Pa., to take on Duquesne. The game against the Dukes will tip off at 7 p.m. (6 p.m. Beaumont time), but it will not be played on the Duquesne campus. Due to renovations on the campus, the game will be played at LaRoche University.