HATTIESBURG, Miss. – Junior Alexis Marmolejos scored a team-high 20 points to lead Lamar to a 69-65 road win at Southern Mississippi Tuesday evening at Reed Green Coliseum. The victory – Lamar's fifth straight – moves the Red and White to 6-5 on the season with two more non-conference games remaining before they return to conference play.
 
Marmolejos' 20 points led a Lamar offense that shot 26-of-66 (.394) from the field, including seven three-pointers. The Cardinals were 10-of-15 (.667) from the free throw line.
 
Marmolejos was joined in double figures by Cody Pennebaker (16 points/6-of-10), Andrew Holifield (12) and Adam Hamilton (10/5-of-5).
 
Southern Miss outshot LU but was held to nine fewer shots. The Golden Eagles ended the night 24-of-57 (.421) from the field, with just two of those makes coming from long range. USM also ended the night with a four-rebound advantage on the glass, 42-38, but the Cardinals held an advantage in offense rebounds which led to a five-point advantage in second chance points for the Red and White.
 
The Cardinals closed the opening half on a 10-0 run, which included an LU basket at the buzzer, and expanded that run to 21-5 run in the second half. Although Southern Miss responded late, the Golden Eagles would never reclaim the lead in the second half as Lamar led for nearly 34 minutes of game time.
 
Lamar opened the game knocking down two of its first six attempts heading into the under 16 media timeout. The Cardinals broke the huddle by running a play for Adam Hamilton that resulted in a dunk. The basket sparked an 8-0 run that saw LU take a 15-11 lead before Cobie Montgomery got the Golden Eagles back on the scoreboard with a three at the 14:05 mark.
 
After hitting just two of seven to start the game, LU began to heat up knocking down four of their next seven. During that same stretch, Southern Miss managed to get off just four shots.
 
Terrance Dixon, Jr. knocked down a hook shot in the paint to give Big Red a seven-point lead, 26-19, with just over seven minutes remaining in the opening half, but Southern Miss responded to the deficit. After falling behind by seven points, the Golden Eagles rattled off a 10-0 run over the next 3:34 to build a three-point advantage, 29-26. Southern Miss pushed its run to 12-0 before the Cardinals responded.
 
Big Red closed the half on a 10-0 run, including a Holifield tip-in at the buzzer to give Lamar a five-point advantage, 36-31, heading into the locker room. Holifield put the team on his back in the closing minutes of the opening half as he blocked a shot, stole an inbound pass drawing a foul and scored eight of the team's 10 points during the run including a three-pointer.
 
The Cardinals finished the half 14-of-36 (.389) from the field with four triples. The Cardinals also took advantage of their attempts at the free throw line converting 4-of-5 – oddly the team's lone miss at the stripe came from Holifield during the team's 10-0 run.
 
Southern Miss outshot LU in the opening half but managed to get off 11 fewer shots in the opening 20 minutes.
 
Lamar pushed its run to 12-0 – with a basket to start the second half – before the Golden Eagles could respond. Lamar built its lead to 49-37 following a Pennebaker layup (which came moments after a Pennebaker triple) as LU extended its run to 21-5.
 
The Golden Eagles responded to the double-digit deficit with a 14-4 run to pull with three with less than eight to play. The hometown team had the ball with a chance to pull within in a point, but Lamar got a stop which led to a fastbreak basket for Holifield.
 
The Golden Eagles got within two twice in the final five minutes of the game, but Lamar always had an answer when they needed it, including a steal which led to a fastbreak basket with less than 10 second to play.
 
The Cardinals will continue their current five-game road swing Saturday when they travel to Lubbock, Texas to take on Texas Tech. The game against the Red Raiders is slated for a noon tip off from the United Supermarkets Arena.