ABILENE, Texas – Junior Davion Buster scored a team-high 16 and Beaumont native Kasen Harrison netted a career-high 15 points, but Lamar University falls 83-65 at Abilene Christian Saturday afternoon in their Southland Conference opener.
 
The Cardinals (2-8/0-1 SLC) finished the day shooting 21-of-51 (.412) from the field, but struggled from three-point range knocking down just four triples (.200) and only one of those coming in the second half. LU made it to the free throw line 24 times converting better than 79 percent of their attempts.
 
Senior Avery Sullivan joined Buster and Harrison in double figures with his 11 points. He also pulled down a team-high seven rebounds.
 
The Wildcats finished the night hitting 30-of-69 attempts (.450) following a second half that saw them convert 63 percent of their attempts, including a 5-of-8 effort on three-pointers. ACU also outrebounded the Cardinals, 43-32. The Wildcats had three players in double figures including 21 from Coryon Mason.
 
The game remained close through the first half, with ACU building as much as a nine-point lead late in the half only to see the Cardinals answer with a three-pointer on the next possession. After taking an early lead the Cardinals fought through a nearly five-minute scoring drought but their hosts couldn't take advantage extended their lead to just four points.
 
The 7-0 ACU run came to an end on a Sullivan jumper. Following two successful trips to the free throw line, the Cardinals pulled even with a 7-0 run of their own. The game within a game continued as Abilene Christian rallied with another 7-0 run, 27-20, with 4:19 remaining.
 
After pulling within three following a Corey Nickerson offensive rebound and put back, the Wildcats responded with an 8-2 run to build a nine-point lead, 36-27, with 1:33 remaining in the half. It appeared ACU was on its way to taking a double-digit lead into the locker room. Buster ended any of those thoughts by burying his second triple of the game with 25 seconds in the half. The Wildcats were unable to respond the half's closing seconds as LU went into the locker room down just six.  
 
The Cardinals finished the opening 20 minutes shooting 10-of-27 from the field, but only 3-of-12 (.250) from long range. Big Red got to the free throw line 10 times in the first half and converted seven attempts. ACU finished the half with a slim lead on the boards, 21-19, but both teams were one and done for the majority of the half.
 
ACU started the second half with consecutive threes to take a nine-point lead, 43-34. Before the first media time out of the second half, ACU had connected on four three-pointers to push their lead to 12 points. Junior Lincoln Smith momentarily put a halt to the run with a three-pointer to trim the deficit back to nine. The Wildcats didn't let up pushing their run to 23-13 to start the second half and build their lead to 19 points.
 
After trailing by 19, the Cardinals began to chip away at the lead with a 7-2 run of their own to pull back within 14 with just over 10 minutes remaining. Unfortunately, the Wildcats had one final response pushing their lead to 22 points. ACU rode that advantage to the final score.
 
Cardinals return to action Wednesday when they travel to Thibodaux, La., to face Nicholls. The game against the Colonels will tip off at 7 p.m. from Stopher Gym.