BEAUMONT, Texas — From Lamar Athletics
Senior Nick Garth scored 17 points Wednesday evening but he was the lone player in double figures on a tough shooting night as Lamar University dropped a 75-64 decision to Abilene Christian in the Montagne Center.
Big Red struggled to a 20-of-61 (.328) performance Wednesday, including a 10-of-27 (.294) effort in the second half. The Cardinals never found their rhythm from long range hitting just 3-of-17 (.176) three-point attempts.
The Cardinals won the battle on the boards, 46-39, including a 19-12 advantage in offensive rebounds. Unfortunately, the Cardinals finished with a slim, 20-14, advantage in second chance points.
ACU finished the night shooting 25-of-59 (.424) from the field following a 56-percent effort in the second half. The Wildcats knocked down four first-half three-pointers but finished the game with just five triples on the night. ACU had two players finish in double figures led by 22 points from Jaylen Franklin.
“Abilene Christian is a very talented team,” said LU head coach Tic Price. “They’re a very good defensive team. Tonight, we didn’t win the 50-50 balls and that was a big key. We allowed way too many offensive rebounds and they were able to finish. We normally don’t allow a team to get that many offensive rebounds. They also did a very good job of scoring off our turnovers (21 points off 15 turnovers). That turned out to be a huge stat in the game.”
After an evenly played first half that saw Abilene take a two-point lead into the locker room, the Cardinals took the early advantage in the second half. Tied at 35, Big Red got an and-one from Garth to take a three-point lead less than two minutes into the half.
The Wildcats responded to the deficit by going on a 16-3 run to build a 10-point lead, 51-41, with 11:57 remaining on the clock. ACU got offense from five different players during the run to build the advantage. Following the run LU never got closer than seven points as Abilene built its lead to as many as 13 points late in the game.
Junior Christian Barrett just missed another double-double with nine points and 13 rebounds, while classmate V.J. Holmes added nine points, six assists and three rebounds. Junior Edwin Jeudy came off the bench to chip in eight.
The Cardinals will be back in action Saturday when they travel to Nacogdoches, Texas to face Stephen F. Austin. The game against the Lumberjacks is slated for a 4:30 p.m. tip from the William R. Johnson Coliseum.