BEAUMONT, Texas – Senior C.J. Roberts continued his hot start to the season scoring a game-high 23 points to lead Lamar University to a 67-64 victory over Our Lady of the Lake Sunday afternoon at the Montagne Center.
 
The Cardinals found a way to win despite struggling from beyond the three-point line. Big Red shot 24-of-63 (.381) percent from the field but converted just 2-of-15 (.133) from long range. With their struggles from beyond the arc, LU turned their focus to the paint where they scored 38 points and outrebounded the Saints, 50-35, including 19 offensive rebounds (which led to 20 second chance points).
 
The Saints – a team that knocked off an NCAA Division I opponent last season – were 22-of-60 (.367) from the field, and also struggled from long-range hitting just 3-of-15 (.200) three-point attempts. The Saints were led by 23 points from Ellis Jones.
 
Senior Lincoln Smith just missed a double-double for the Cardinals with eight points and 13 rebounds.
 
The game was close throughout the first half with neither team gaining larger than a six-point lead, and both defenses preventing the other from going on a sustained run. Early in the second half, the Cardinals built a 10-point lead following a Roberts' three-pointer (44-34). The Saints responded to the field goal by rattling off the next eight points to pull within two. The lead would get no greater than two possessions for either side for the next eight minutes, but that appeared change after OLLU grabbed a five-point lead and was headed to the free throw line to shoot three with 4:51 remaining.
 
The Saints were on the verge of building an eight-point advantage but went 2-of-5 from the stripe in consecutive trips leaving the door open for LU and that is all Big Red would need. The Cardinals responded by going to the free throw line in consecutive trips and hitting all four attempts. OLLU scored a basket on their next possession but the Red and White went right back to Roberts who converted an and one to get LU back within a point.
 
After a defensive stop, the Cardinals called Roberts number again as he scored on a drive to the basket. OLLU answered with a quick bucket to reclaim a one-point advantage but it would be their final points of the game as the Cards would score the final four points – all at the line – for the victory.
 
The Cardinals return to action Saturday when they travel to Arlington, Texas to face UT Arlington. The game against the Mavericks will tip off at 2 p.m.