BEAUMONT, Texas – Junior Terry Anderson scored a game-high 20 points and pulled down 11 rebounds but Lamar University came up short at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, 79-71, Saturday afternoon at the American Bank Center.
 
Anderson led a Cardinals' offense that was 25-of-51 (.490) from the field, including five triples. The Cardinals were near perfect from the free throw line knocking down 16-of-18 (.889) attempts.
 
Anderson was joined in double figures by Adam Hamilton (14) and B.B. Knight (11).
 
The Islanders were 27-of-64 (.422) from the field, including nine makes from long range. A&M-Corpus Christi also outrebounded Lamar by five, 36-31, including 16 on the offensive glass. Lamar (12-10/6-3 SLC) was also stung by 15 turnovers which the hometown team turned into 18 points.
 
Neither team set the nets on fire early in the first half as Lamar converted two its first seven, while A&M-Corpus Christi knocked down three of their first nine but unfortunately all of the Islanders' makes were from beyond the arc.
 
The Islanders would turn things around converting eight of their next 18 attempts and built a 12-point lead with less than three to play in the first half, but Lamar would respond. The Cardinals pulled to within nine at halftime.
 
The Cardinals stayed hot to open the second half of play knocking down 5 of their first 7 attempts, while A&M-Corpus Christi hit just 2-of-8 during that stretch. The Cardinals rattled off a 19-7 run to tie the game at 42 five minutes into the second.
 
The Islanders responded by scoring the game's next four points to take a two-possession lead and would push their run to 18-10 building a 60-52 advantage with 7:49 remaining in the contest. Big Red managed to keep the game within three possessions down the stretch and trimmed the deficit down to five several times in the final 90 seconds but never got any closer.
 
The Cardinals return to action Saturday, Feb. 10, when they will be back in the Neches Federal Credit Union Arena at the Montagne Center when they host Nicholls. The game against the Colonels will tip off at 3:30 p.m.