KATY, Texas – Senior Moe Kinard scored a game-high 34 points, but it wasn't enough as Lamar University dropped an 88-79 decision to Abilene Christin in the 2019 Southland Conference Championship semifinals Saturday afternoon from the Merrell Center from Katy, Texas. 
 
Kinard led an offense that was 28-of-68 (.412) from the field, including a 10-of-26 (.385) performance from three-point range. The Cardinals forced ACU into 19 turnovers which they converted into 24 points.
 
Kinard was joined in double figures by three teammates. Freshman Umaja Collins had 12 points, while senior Chastadie Barrs and freshman Miya Crump each added 10.
 
"We played a really solid three quarters of basketball and the last quarter, the wheels fell off for us," remarked head coach Robin Harmony. "Give credit to Abilene Christian. They came out and shot the lights out. Once you let a very good team get the lead its tough to come back. Hats off to our kids as we did not quit."
 
The Wildcats never cooled down finishing the afternoon knocking down 26-of-42 attempts (.619), including an 8-of-16 (.500) on three-pointers. The Wildcats also took advantage of their attempts from the free throw line (28-of-30/.933). Breana Wright led ACU with 31 points. She was one of four Wildcats in double figures.
 
ACU also outrebounded Big Red by three, but the Cardinals held 20-5 advantage in second chance points.
 
The Wildcats opened the game scoring the first four points, but the No. 1 overall seed didn't allow ACU to hold the lead for very long. Big Red captured its first lead midway through the first quarter and held the Wildcats at arm's length behind smothering defense and strong work on the boards. That allowed LU to overcome a 14-of-23 (.609) shooting performance by the Wildcats in the opening 20 minutes.
 
Once LU got the lead they went to work on the defensive end of the floor. The Cardinals forced Abilene Christian into 10 first-half turnovers which they converted into 15 points. The Cardinals grabbed a six-point lead, 19-13, less than seven minutes into game and carried a three-point lead into the second quarter.
 
ACU converted 13 of its first 19 (.684) attempts from the field but were hurt by miscues. The Cardinals took advantage of the turnovers building a double-digit lead following an 11-1 run sparked by two Kinard three-pointers. The Cardinals led 39-28 with just over three-minutes remaining in the opening half before ACU attempted to chip away at the deficit. The Red and White took a 41-33 lead into locker room.
 
The Cardinals finished the opening half shooting 15-of-40 (.375) from the field, including a 6-of-16 (.375) effort on threes. Big Red also outrebounded the Wildcats, 21-14, in the opening half. The Wildcats were better than 60 percent from the field (14-of-23/.609) but were hurt by 10 first half turnovers.
 
The Cardinals managed to rebuild their 10-point lead with 2:03 remaining in the third but ACU battled back to cut the deficit to just four with seconds remaining in quarter before LU took a six-point lead into the final period, 58-52. ACU trimmed the lead to two following two Wright free throws, but the Cardinals responded with a Kinard basket on the other end of the floor to get the lead back to four.
 
LU got the lead to seven, 68-61, before Makayla Mabry answered with a three-pointer to trim the deficit down to four. The Wildcats followed with a stop on the ensuing LU possession and came right back down the floor to sink another triple to pull within one, 68-67, with 4:24 remaining. Wright gave the Wildcats their first lead since early in the first quarter with two makes at the free throw line.
 
After the Cardinals reclaimed the lead on a Umaja Collins jumper, the Wildcats rattled off a 9-0 run to build a 78-70 advantage with 1:10 remaining in the contest. The key basket was a Mabry three-pointer to give ACU its largest lead of the contest. ACU made it an 11-0 run following a stop on the defensive end of the floor which was followed by a Wright layup. Kinard was able to stop the run with a three-pointer with 43 seconds remaining to cut the ACU lead back to seven, 80-73.
 
The Cardinals were forced to foul and put ACU on the free throw line, but the Wildcats knocked down their attempts to overcome a late barrage of triples from the Red and White. LU was defeated 88-79 by ACU.