BEAUMONT, Texas – Senior, and Beaumont native, T.J. Atwood netted a career-high 34 points and pulled down 10 rebounds to lead Lamar University to a 79-73 overtime victory over Southeastern Louisiana Wednesday evening from the Montagne Center. Atwood was one of two Cardinals to record a double-double, and one of three to pull down double-figure rebounds.
 
"I'm proud of these guys tonight because there was no quit in this team," said LU head coach Tic Price. "I thought there were several times where we could have hung our heads and given up, but they continued to fight. SLU was a dangerous team for us to play. We knew they were far better than their record, plus they were hunting for their first road win."
 
The Cardinals finished the night shooting 30-of-76 (.395) from the field, including a 45-percent effort in the second half. The Cardinals knocked down seven triples on the night, but only three of those came in the final 25 minutes of action.
 
Big Red's most impressive stat of the night came on the glass where they outrebounded the Lions, 51-38, including 23 offensive boards. In addition to Atwood's 10 rebounds, freshman David Muoka pulled down 13 and junior Avery Sullivan grabbed 10.
 
"I think more than anything else, I'm very proud of how dominant we were in the paint," said Price. "We outscored them 34-28 and outrebounded them 51-38. We also had three guys in double figures on the boards. Avery Sullivan has made a habit of getting a double-double, but even when he had to go to the bench with foul trouble Muoka came and played really well down low."
 
The Cardinals forced SLU into 15 turnovers which the Cardinals cashed in for 26 points. LU was strong with the basketball turning it over just nine times and limited their guests to just four points from those miscues.
 
Atwood was joined in double figures by senior V.J. Holmes and Sullivan. Holmes scored 11 points and pulled down six rebounds, dished out five assists and recorded four steals. Sullivan collected another double-double with his 10 points and 10 rebounds, but his playing time was limited Wednesday due to foul trouble.
 
Southeastern outshot the Cardinals knocking down 44 percent of their shots, including a 15-of-28 (.536) effort in the second half. The Lions also converted nine three-pointers in the contest, but all that came to an end in the overtime.
 
The Cardinals held their guest to a mere 2-of-8 (.250) performance in the extra period. SLU was led by 18 points from Byron Smith.
 
The Cardinals wasted little time in building an 11-point lead, 16-5, less than six minutes into the opening half. The Lions managed to trim the deficit down to a single possession before the under 12 media timeout, but the Red and White always had an answer pushing the lead back to 10 points with less than five until halftime. SLU managed to trim the deficit to three headed into the locker room after scoring the final seven points of the half.
 
The Cardinals managed to hold the lead from the opening tip off until the 6:26 mark of the second before the Lions edged their way in front. The game would be back-and-forth for the remainder of the half. The Cardinals found themselves down by two with 1:18 remaining when Atwood took over. The Beaumont native scored three consecutive baskets for the Red and White, including a three with 70 seconds remaining to put the Cardinals back in front by a point.
 
The Lions got the ball with 15 second remaining and fed it down low to Pape Diop who missed the layup but got fouled. He hit the first free throw but missed the second and the Cardinals were unable to score in the closing seconds forcing over time.
 
The Cardinals immediately knocked the wind out of the Southeastern sails scoring the first five points of the extra period. Freshman Anderson Kopp – playing in his first game – kept several possessions alive with some key offensive rebounds in the overtime.
 
After the Lions trimmed the deficit back to three, the Cardinals responded immediately with a layup from Muoka and a free throw from Kopp. LU also got two free throws from Holmes to push the advantage to eight before the Lions scored the last basket for the final score.
 
The Cardinals return to action Saturday when they travel to Natchitoches, La., to take on Northwestern State. The game against the Demons will tip off at 3 p.m. from Prather Coliseum.