NACOGDOCHES, Texas – Despite a career-high 33 points from sophomore Braden East (15-of-19/.789 shooting), Lamar University's comeback fell just short Saturday afternoon at the William R. Johnson Coliseum.
 
The Cardinals (12-12/7-8 SLC) ended the night 29-of-62 (.468) from the field with six three-pointers, while SFA was 29-of-54 from the field with eight triples. Both teams took advantage of their attempts at the free throw line – Lamar was 10-of-12 (.857) while SFA converted 18-of-22 (.818).
 
Lamar won the battle of the boards, 30-27, including an 9-5 advantage on the glass. LU ended the night with a 9-6 lead in second chance points. The Cardinals also got a huge boost from their bench. Lamar's reserves outscored SFA's, 29-13. The Lumberjacks made up for that with an 18-8 lead in points off turnovers.
 
Both teams came out clicking on offense. Lamar converted eight of its first 13 attempts (with a couple of threes) while the Lumberjacks were 8-of-15 also with two threes. The Cardinals took a one-point lead midway through the opening half, 19-18, following an Errol White jumper. Unfortunately, SFA responded with an 8-0 run to take a seven-point lead.
 
The Cardinals got back within a single possession heading into the under eight media timeout but they came out of the break cold. LU missed its next seven attempts while the Lumberjacks responded with an 11-3 run to build a double-digit lead. The 'Jacks run ended following an East basket at the 2:54 mark. The East bucket capped a first half that saw him score 18 points (on 8-of-11 shooting/.727) while pulling down seven rebounds.
 
The Lumberjacks carried a 12-point lead into the intermission after shooting 17-of-29 (.586) from the field, including five three-pointers. SFA also took advantage of its free throw attempts converting 7-of-10 (.700).
 
The hometown team took its licks on the glass in the opening 20 minutes as Big Red outrebounded SFA, 19-11, including a 6-1 advantage on the offense glass. Lamar's advantage on the boards led to a 6-0 lead in second chance points, but SFA earned a 10-0 advantage on points off turnovers.
 
The Lumberjacks managed to push their lead to 20 points with less than 13 to play and SFA never allowed Lamar to make an extended run until late in the contest. Lamar rattled off an 11-2 run following baskets from  Jayden Gambrell (a three-pointer) and Cody Pennebaker with less than three minutes remaining. Lamar trimmed the deficit from 17 down to six in less than two minutes but LU simply ran out of time to complete the comeback.
 
The Cardinals will be back in action Monday when they host Northwestern State. The game against the Demons will tip off at 6 p.m. from the Neches Federal Credit Union Arena at the Montagne Center. It will be broadcast live on Newstalk 560 KLVI and streamed live on ESPN+.