CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – Senior Rob Lee Jr. scored a game-high 24 points to lead Lamar University who battled back from a double-digit first-half lead at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, but the Cardinals fell short in the comeback bid dropping a 76-63 decision.
 
Lamar ended the day 19-of-48 (.396) from the field but converted just two three-pointers. The Cardinals went to the free throw line 27 times knocking down 23 attempts (.852).
 
After a hot start offensively, the Cardinals shut A&M-Corpus Christi down in the second half. The Islanders finished the game 44 percent from the field after an 8-of-21 (.381) performance in the second half. The Islanders knocked down six three-pointers Saturday.
 
Joining Lee in double figures were sophomore Braden East who scored 15 points but saw his consecutive double-double streak come to an end with just seven points. Senior Andrew Holifield ended the day with eight points and became the fifth Cardinal in program history to reach 100 career blocks with four Saturday.
 
The Islanders opened the game on a 9-2 and never looked back in the first half. A&M-Corpus Christi's opening salvo was temporarily halted by a Braden East hook shot off the glass, but A&M-Corpus Christi never let up.
 
The Islanders converted 15 of their first 26 (71 percent) attempts – including a 5-of-7 (.714) start from long range to build a 24-point lead before Lamar started to cut in the deficit right before halftime. A&M-Corpus Christi took a 38-22 advantage into the locker room after shooting 15-of-31 (.484) including a 5-of-10 (.500) performance on threes.
 
While LU forced misses on Corpus Christi's final five shot attempts and rallied late in the half, Big Red went into the intermission converting 8-of-26 (.308) from the field but just 1-of-7 (.143) from long range.
 
The hometown team also got the better of Lamar on the glass in the opening 20 minutes taking a 20-13 advantage in the opening 20 minutes. The Islanders got a huge boost from their bench posting an 18-4 advantage from the reserves.
 
The Cardinals came out in the second half and hit the reset button. Big Red rattled off a 28-6 run – dating back to when they trailed by 24 in the first half – and pulled within 11 at the 13:37 mark. Lamar remained on the attack and got the deficit down to single digits following an and-one opportunity from Rob Lee, Jr. Following the free throw, LU was down just eight 59-51 with 5:33 remaining. Unfortunately, Lamar could get no closer in the final minutes.
 
The Cardinals return to action Monday when they make the trip over to Edinburg, Texas to take on UT Rio Grande Valley. The game against the Vaqueros will tip off Monday at 6:30 p.m. from the UTRGV Fieldhouse.