EDINBURG, Texas – Four Lamar University Cardinals finished the game with double-figures, including 18 points from Alexis Marmolejos, as Big Red sent an early knockout blow to UT Rio Grande Valley, 84-52, Saturday afternoon at the UTRGV Fieldhouse.
 
The Cardinals, who are now 2-0 in Southland Conference play after two early season league road games, used a similar script just different timing compared to their win Thursday. Lamar closed Thursday's game with a 24-9 run to rally for a late win but chose to eliminate all stress early Saturday with a 37-14 first half run to essentially knock the wind out of UTRGV.
 
The Red and White shot better than 60 percent from the field in the second half and finished the game 37-of-64 (.578) from the field, including a 6-of-13 (.462) effort from three-point range.
 
Joining Marmolejos in double figures were Ja'Sean Jackson (15 points), Adam Hamilton (12) and Andrew Holifield (12). Only one Cardinal who checked in the lineup Saturday did not record score.
 
Lamar's defense in the contest should not be overlooked as the Cards limited their hosts to an 18-of-54 (.333) effort with just five three-pointers (four coming in the second half), with only one Vaquero finishing in double figures. K.T. Raimey scored 10 points for UTRGV but most of his damage came at the free throw line (6-of-6).
 
The Cardinals also forced UTRGV into 17 turnovers for the game which proved costly. The Vaqueros surrendered 22 points from their 17 miscues, while Big Red limited its mistakes to just 10 – five in each half.
 
It was a close game early as both teams struggled to find the range – the Cardinals opened 3-of-8 from the field while UTRGV was 3-of-12. The Cardinals got a basket from Hamilton to give LU a four-point lead, 13-9, with 12 remaining in the opening 20 minutes. Hamilton's basket sparked a 10-2 run as the Cardinals built an eight-point advantage heading into the under eight timeout. The Cardinals didn't let up after the pause in the action extending their run to 22-8 to take a 14-point lead just moments later.
 
Lamar's success on the offensive end of the court was aided by what it did on defensive end. Big Red picked up Saturday right where it left off Thursday holding the Vaqueros to just four of their first 20 and finished the half with just eight field goals and only one from long range.
 
The Cardinals went into the locker room shooting nearly 56 percent from the field (20-of-36) with most of their damage done inside the arc. Lamar also forced UTRGV into 13 first-half turnovers and converted those miscues into 18 points. The Cardinals turned the ball over just five times in the opening half (the Vaqueros scored just two points off those five mistakes).
 
Big Red's defense held the Vaqueros to a 1-of-14 (.071) effort from long range in the first 20 minutes. Heading into the locker room, the Cardinals had held their last two opponents to a 1-of-27 (.037) effort from three-point range over the previous 60 minutes of action.
 
UT Rio Grande Valley never seriously threatened the Cards in the second half as Lamar now returns to non-conference play for the rest of the calendar year.
 
The Cardinals travel to UL Lafayette Saturday, Dec. 14^th to face UL Lafayette. The game against the Ragin' Cajuns is set to tip off at noon.