MBB: SELA 98 LU 70

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HAHAMMOND, La. – The Lamar University Cardinals struggled out of the gate Monday evening against Southeastern Louisiana and never recovered falling, 98-70, in the University Center. The loss dropped LU to 10-8 on the season, and 2-4 in Southland Conference play, while the Lions (3-15/1-4 Southland) ended a nine-game drought.

“We didn’t defend anybody to start the game, and they shot better than 60 percent in the first half,” said LU head coach Tic Price. “We didn’t execute against the zone tonight. We practiced against a 1-3-1 all week, and we get into the game and act like we’ve never seen it before. We’ve got to be more focused going into games. I also wasn’t happy with our energy level tonight.”

Southeastern shot 60 percent for the game (33-of-55) after opening the night with a 20-of-31 (.645) performance in the opening half, including a 12-of-20 (.600) effort from beyond the arc. While the Lions were scorching the nets LU finished the night 26-of-72 (.361), and shot less than 30 percent from three-point range.

The Cardinals were led by 15 points from sophomore Kevin Booze, while freshman Josh Nzeakor added 12 points and pulled down eight rebounds. SLU had five players in double figures led by 24 from JaMichael Hawkins.

Southeastern looked like a different team to start the game and not the 0-4 squad their record indicated coming into the contest. The Lions connected on five of their first eight attempts and jumped out to a 10-point advantage to start the night. SLU started the game shooting better than 60 percent from the field through the first 12 minutes pushing their advantage to 21 points, 35-14, with 5:56 remaining.

After leading by just two points with 14:02 remaining in the half, the Lions utilized a 21-2 run over an eight-minute stretch to pull away from LU. The Lions pushed the lead to as many as 26 points before taking a 27-point lead, 54-27, into the locker.

The Cardinals aided SLU’s first-half run with 11 turnovers and being whistled for 11 fouls. The Lions converted the miscues into 13 points, and went 7-of-9 (.778) from the free throw line in the opening 20 minutes.

Big Red never found its rhythm knocking down only 10-of-37 (.270) attempts in the first 20 minutes, including a 4-of-18 (.222) mark from beyond the arc, while SLU shot nearly 65 percent from the field and 58 percent from three-point range.

Although the Cardinals picked up the pace in the second half, they were never able to cut into the deficit as Southeastern always found an answer. The Lions never cooled off shooting 15-of-29 (.517) in second half. The Cards were 16-of-35 (.457) in the second half, but just 5-of-16 (.313) from beyond the arc.

After 11 turnovers in the opening half, the Cards settled down in the second with just two. Despite turning it over two more times than their opponents, LU finished the night plus four (17-13) in points off turnovers. The Cardinals also outrebounded SLU, 42-39, including 19 offensive rebounds which led to a 20-7 advantage in second chance points.

The Cardinals will look to put this loss behind them and get back in the win column Saturday when they host Houston Baptist. The game against the Huskies will tip off at 4:30 p.m. from the Montagne Center, and will also be televised on ESPN3.

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