MONROE, La. – Lamar University traveled to Monroe, La., Saturday to take a on a former Southland Conference opponent, but the Cardinals (4-8) got out to a slow start offensively and never recovered dropping an 83-59 decision to UL Monroe.
 
Freshman Yuto Yamanouchi led an offense that shot nearly 38 percent for the game. Yamanouchi paced the Cardinals with 14 points (on 6-of-9 shooting) and pulled down a game-high 12 rebounds for his first career double-double.
 
Yamanouchi was joined in double-figures by classmate Nate Calmese (12) and junior Adam Hamilton (11). The Cardinals picked up the pace in the second half shooting 17-of-38 (.447) before the final buzzer sounded. LU was 3-of-18 (.167) from long range.
 
The battle on the boards ended with both teams pulling down 35 rebounds, led by two Cardinals in double figures (Yamanouchi – 12 and Cody Pennebaker – 10). Pennebaker just missed a double-double with nine points. The Cardinals ended the game with the edge in offensive rebounds, 16-9.
 
The Warhawks shot 32-of-58 (.552) from the field, including a 10-of-23 (.435) performance from three-point range. ULM was led by Tyreke Locure's 17 points.
 
The game remained close for nearly seven minutes until ULM's Thomas Howell hit a three to give the Warhawks a three-point lead, 13-10. The triple sparked a 13-2 run that gave the home team an 11-point lead. LU responded immediately to trim the deficit back to single digits, but Monroe took a 21-point lead into halftime.
 
Big Red came out in the second half and scored the first six points to trim the deficit back to just 15, but that would be as close as LU would get as UL Monroe would hold on for the victory.
 
The Cardinals will look to put this game behind them and quickly get reset for their next opponent – and final non-conference game of the season – Tuesday when the University of the Pacific comes to town. The game against the Tigers is slated to begin at 7 p.m. from the Montagne Center.