HAMMOND, La. - Lamar University outscored Southeastern Louisiana by a dozen in the second half and extended its winning streak to seven games with a 57-44 victory Thursday evening. LU still trails McNeese by a game for first place in the Southland Conference standings.
While no one scored in double figures,
R'Mani Taylor led the Cardinals with nine points and dished out three assists.
Jacei Denley and
Solenne Olenga each scored eight points, while
Chisom Oguego (11 rebounds),
Taliah Hill and
Kamryn Wilson scored six points.
The Cardinals (13-6, 10-2 SLC) finished the game by hitting 36.4 percent from the field and converted 12-of-14 at the free throw line. LU outrebounded the Lions, 41-31, while capitalizing on 21 second-chance points and adding 24 points off the bench.
The first quarter was back-and-forth, which ended up with the Cardinals leading 11-10 despite hitting 23.5 percent (4-of-17). The Lions led 8-5 before Big Red scored six consecutive points, culminating with a layup by Olenga.
LU's early offensive woes continued in the second quarter as it made four field goals. Half of the shots came from
KJ Walker, who netted five points while both Denley and Wilson converted a pair of free throws. The Lions were held to 4-of-15 from the field but managed to cut the deficit to 22-21 at halftime.
SLU went ahead 25-24 early in the third quarter before Denley connected with a three-pointer to retake the lead. Following a pair of Lion free throws, the Cardinals got a big boost from Oguego, who ignited a 6-0 run with a layup and a steal. The Lions pulled to within 35-33, but the Cardinals finished with four points to lead 39-33.
The Lions got as close as four early in the fourth quarter. From that point forward, the Cardinals stretched their lead to double-digits with six points from Olenga and a three-pointer from Forman. With Denley adding five points to finish as the team's high scorer, the Cardinals shot their highest percentage from the field (46.7), leading to the win.
The Cardinals will look to draw level with McNeese in the conference standings as they will be hosting the second Battle of the Border matchup Saturday at Neches Federal Credit Union Arena. The game will tip off at 3 p.m. and be streamed on ESPN+ and broadcast on Newstalk 560 KLVI.
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