STARKVILLE, Miss. – Senior C.J. Roberts scored a game-high 25 points to lead Lamar University against Mississippi State, but the Cardinals came up short on the road against the Bulldogs, 75-60, Thursday evening at Humphrey Coliseum.
 
Roberts was one of two Cardinals (1-7) to score in double figures as he was joined by Davion Buster with 17 points.
 
Roberts paced a Cardinals' attacked that finished the night shooting 24-of-55 (.436) from the field with a 6-of-19 (.316) clip from three-point range.
 
The Bulldogs were 25-of-54 (.463) on the night, a number that included seven three-pointers. Mississippi State had four players finish the game in double figures led by Iverson Molinar's 17 points. The story of the night came on the glass where MSU outrebounded the Cardinals, 44-24, with the majority of that advantage coming the second half (26). The Bulldogs finished the night with 16 offensive rebounds which led to 16 second-chance points.
 
Mississippi State also found an advantage at the free throw line. The Bulldogs converted 18-of-27 (.667) attempts, while LU was only allowed to stripe 11 times.
 
The Bulldogs opened the game on a 16-4 run after converting their first five attempts. LU stopped the run following a Roberts' triple off the glass. After a stop on the defensive end of the floor, the Cardinals got a quick jumper from Buster on an inbound play to trim the deficit down to seven, 16-9, with 11:51 remaining in the half.
 
Big Red had an opportunity to trim the deficit even further, but a jumper didn't draw iron and Mississippi State got the ball back and converted a three-pointer.
 
A Buster three with 8:37 in the half got LU back within seven, but Mississippi State managed to get the lead back to 11 points just moments later. The Cardinals responded with a tough basket from Clayton Carpenter in the paint that touched every part of the rim before falling through the net. The Cardinals then got a block on the defensive end of the floor which led to another Buster three ball. After the Bulldogs got their advantage back to 10 with less than 25 seconds remaining, LU held the ball for the final shot of the half – a layup from Roberts – to go into the locker room down just eight, 38-30.
 
LU finished the half shooting 13-of-28 (.464) from the field, including a 4-of-10 (.400) effort on threes. The Cardinals only went to the stripe twice, late in the half, but came up empty handed, where the homestanding Bulldogs were 8-of-10. After opening the game perfect on their first five attempts, the Bulldogs went 13-of-25 (.520), with four three-pointers. The taller Bulldogs held an 18-11 advantage on the glass, with six offensive boards but just a 5-2 edge in second chance points. LU finished the first half with a two-point advantage in terms of paint points.
 
Neither team started quick in the second half, with LU hitting just three of its first nine, while the Bulldogs were just 4-of-13. State managed to get the lead back to double digits following a three-point basket from Rocket Watts at the 11:49 mark.
 
After Big Red trimmed the lead down to eight points, State responded with a 12-2 run to extend their led to 18 points with 8:06 remaining, but the Bulldogs were unable to run and hide. The Cardinals answered back with freshman Avontez Ledet dropping consecutive threes to get the Red and White back within 13, with 6:13 remaining. A couple of Jefferson free throws got the deficit down to 11, when Ledet came up with a steal on the defensive end but LU couldn't convert the turnover into points.
 
MSU's Molinar hit a three with 3:11 on the clock to push the lead back to 17, and the Cardinals could get no closer than 15 in the game's closing minutes.
 
The Cardinals return to action Sunday when they host Our Lady of the Lake. The game against the Saints will tip off at 3 p.m. from the Montagne Center. It will be broadcast live on Newstalk 560 KLVI and streamed live on ESPN+.