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February 9, 2010

LU routs Lyon College, 75-46

BEAUMONT – Lamar head coach Steve Roccaforte achieved his game plan to perfection in Saturday’s 75-46 Montange Center rout over Lyon College, a small NAIA school from Batesville, Ark.

            His objective was simple: first of all -- get a win, but play as many young players as possible as the now 14-11 Cardinals head down the final stretch in Southland Conference play.

            LU’s easy win was its fourth in a row and its 10th victory in its past 14 games.

            With a 4 p.m. afternoon game in San Marcos against Texas State this Saturday, Roccaforte was also able to rest standout senior and double-double master Justin Nabors, who’s been battling injuries recently. Nabors did not play in the contest, a factor that should have him ready for Texas State this weekend.

            “I was pleased with the way we played overall,” said Lamar grad and fourth-year head coach Roccaforte. “We didn’t have to play Justin (Nabors) because he was really sore, and we got our young players lots of playing time.”

            As a team, Roccaforte got a chance to get freshmen like Donte Lopez, Stan Brown, Donley Minor and Justin Wesley extended minutes against the 5-18 Scots.

            And they performed well as a group.

            “With the freshmen we have on our team in Brown (Stan), Minor (Donley), Wesley (Justin) and Lopez (Donte), we kind of forget that starters Anthony Miles and Charlie Harper are also just sophomores. And another starter, Coy Custer, is just a junior,” Coach Roc noted.

            “I’m very excited about the present and the future of this basketball team.”

            After jumping out to 13-0 and 18-2 leads in the opening five minutes, there was little doubt who would win the ball game – but just how much.

            Leading 40-13 at halftime (the lowest opponent first half scoring total in the Roccaforte era), Lamar unleashed a tremendously balanced scoring attack featuring four Cards in double figures, and a total of eight players with seven points or better.

            Led by 6-11 Custer with 11 points (six rebounds), Roccaforte also received 10 points apiece from Miles, Lopez, and junior Reggie Mathis.

            In his most extended playing time of his career, 6-9 freshman post Brown added career highs in rebounds (10), points (seven), and minutes played (34).

            Lamar’s freshmen scored 32 of their team’s 75 points. Guards Lopez (nine rebounds) and Minor scored 10 and seven points, respectively, while the Cardinal first-year inside players Brown and Wesley added a combined 15 points and 18 rebounds.

            On the biggest thing for Roccaforte was giving starters Nabors, Miles, Harper, and Kendrick Harris lots of rest.

             Besides sitting Nabors the entire game, LU also rested its No. 1-2-and 4 players in Miles, Harris, and Harper that had played the most minutes this year for much of the contest. It’s top four players played only a combined 37 minutes in the game.

            It was Lyon College’s seventh straight loss and the Scots were beaten down in just about every statistical category: field goal percentage, rebounds, assists, points in the paint, second chance points, points off turnovers, fast break points and bench points.

  Lyon College’s 26.2 percent shooting (17-of-65) was the best field goal defense in Roccaforte’s tenure at Lamar. The 13-point halftime total was also Lamar’s best defensive effort in recent years.

   The Cardinals also pounded Lyon on the boards (55-34) to register their highest number of rebounds this season. LU’s largest lead was 32 points in the final two minutes of play, but Roccaforte’s outfit kept the lead in the mid-to-upper 20’s for much of the entire game. – Larry Bodin  



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