HOUSTON, Texas – Senior T.J. Atwood scored 19 of his team-high 21 points in the second half and classmate V.J. Holmes netted a career-high 19 as Lamar University raced to a 102-92 victory over Houston Baptist Saturday evening in Houston. The victory was just the Card's second road win in series history and the second time this season LU has hit 100 points in a game.
 
The Cardinals shot 60 percent from the field (33-of-55) due in large part to their hot start. The Cardinals converted 75 percent of their shots from the field in the opening half. Big Red was just as strong from three-point range converting 9-of-15 (.600) attempts. The Red and White also took care of business at the free throw line knocking down 27-of-33 (.818) attempts.
 
The Cardinals turned the ball over 14 times on the night but only five of those came in the second half. The Huskies were forced into 15 miscues but the advantage came in points scored off turnovers. The Cardinals scored 26 points while HBU managed just 14 off the Cardinals' miscues.
 
Houston Baptist was able to keep things close due to their hot shooting in the second half. HBU shot 35-of-70 (.500) from the field but that came after a 54-percent effort in the second half.
 
The Cardinals finished the night with five players in double figures, including two who struck for 20. In addition to Atwood and Holmes, the Cardinals got 20 from sophomore Davion Buster on 7-of-10 (.700) shooting, including a 4-of-6 (.667) effort on threes. Junior Avery Sullivan recorded another double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds, while freshman Anderson Kopp added 14.
 
"This is a very tough place to play but we knew coming in that we had to win this game," said LU head coach Tic Price. "T.J. (Atwood) came up with some tough baskets for us in the second half and we finished the game with five players in double figures. We also did a good job of sharing the ball tonight with 21 assists to 14 turnovers."
 
Both teams opened the contest hot from the field. The Cardinals knocked down three of their first six while HBU converted 4-of-7. The Huskies built a 22-15 lead early in the contest, but the Cardinals' accuracy from the field began to have an impact.
 
The Cardinals responded to the deficit by rattling off a 16-5 run sparked by a Buster steal which led to a Sullivan layup. The basket capped a perfect 6-of-6 start for Sullivan from the field. Sullivan's make was followed by Kopp three-pointer. The Cardinals eventually pushed their run to 25-8 to take a 40-29 lead midway through the half. The Cardinals continued to heat up knocking down 15 of their first 18 attempts (.833).
 
The Cardinals finished the opening half shooting 75 percent from the field converting 21-of-28 attempts which includes a 5-of-7 (.714) effort from three-point range. The Cardinals also held onto the basketball turning it over just nine times in the opening half.
 
"We wanted to pressure them from the start," said Price. "Our plan was to push the ball up the court and really pressure them on defense. We wanted to get them back on their heels. I felt like we did a good job of making the extra pass and forcing them to keep moving."
 
HBU was 16-of-35 (.457) from the field and kept things close due to their accuracy from the free throw line converting 9-of-10 attempts. The Huskies turned the ball over just eight times in the opening half but LU converted those mistakes into 17 points while Houston Baptist managed just 9 points off the Cards' miscues.
 
LU picked up in the second half where it left on in the first knocking down five of their first 10 sparked by an Atwood three-pointer to open the half. The Cardinals built their lead to as many as 18 in the second but the Huskies picked up the pace offensively converting 14 of their first 25 to trim the lead down to eight, 87-79, with just under five minutes remaining.
 
After the Cardinals built the lead to 11, HBU trimmed it down to nine following two DuBose free throws. The Red and White got the lead back to double digits after a tough basket in traffic from Atwood. Following a flagrant foul, Holmes got the lead back to nine at the free throw line and pushed to 11 when he went back to the stripe moments later.
 
HBU forced the Cardinals to have win the game at the free throw line and Big Red took advantage of their opportunities. Buster put LU over the 100-point plateau with his two makes from the stripe with 17 seconds remaining.
 
The Cardinals return to action Wednesday when they host Sam Houston State. The game will tip off at 7 p.m. from the Montagne Center. The game will also be broadcast live on Newstalk 560 KLVI.