BEAUMONT — You’ve heard this story before, right?

A much more veteran championship squad keeps Lamar on the ropes from the tip, and it takes a little while for the Cardinals to make a comeback. The Cardinals don’t go away without a fight, but it’s not enough.

Yeah, that’s what happened Monday night. But it was much more down-to-the-wire.

Sam Houston State nearly blew a 22-point lead and escaped the Montagne Center on Monday night with a 69-66 victory over the slumping Cardinals before a crowd of 2,076. For about the final 8 minutes, the crowd was mostly silent.

Lamar (10-12, 2-8 Southland), which has lost eight of nine (and five in a row), enjoyed its most successful defensive outing in eight games, using all-out traps to disrupt Sam Houston’s offensive rhythm and go on a rally from 54-32 down with 14:13 left. The Cards had the final possession, but Kevin Booze brought the ball down the court and pulled up for a three-point shot that hit the back of the rim at the buzzer.

“We didn’t get what we wanted the last play because they didn’t play the way we anticipated,” Booze said. “I just had to come down and improvise.”

Booze made a steal in the backcourt and converted a layup off it to make it 57-43 with 8:41 left, igniting the cheers. Port Arthur’s Dorian Chatman scored 10 of his 12 points in the second half, keeping momentum alive.

“I never feel like I have to put my team on my back, because in the locker room, they’ve always supported me even when I went into my slump,” said Chatman, who was coming off a 24-point effort Saturday in a loss at Abilene Christian. He’s scored in double figures the past three games after totaling 16 points in six previous outings.

“Every night, I always come out with the confidence from my teammates, my family,” Chatman said. “But some games it falls, and some games you struggle a little bit. You have to handle the adversity.”

The deficit shrunk to 63-62 after Chatman hit two straight free throws with 45 seconds left. Sam Houston’s Dakarai Henderson responded with a layup on the other end, and Josh Nzeakor answered to try and create a two-for-one situation for the Cards.

It turned into a three-for-two. Jamal Williams stayed cool at the line and made 4 of 4 free throws for Sam Houston, with a Booze layup at the 7-second mark in between. Lamar went back to Booze for the tie, but the play didn’t unfold the way it was planned.

After the first 20 minutes, Lamar struggled from the field (28.6 percent shooting) and trailed 35-22. But Lamar connected on 16 of 29 (55.2 percent) in the final 20 minutes to finish 24 for 57 (42.1 percent). Sam Houston made 26 of 60 for 43.3 percent.

Nzeakor, Garth and Chatman each had 12 with Quan Jones netting 10 for the Cards. Aurimas Majauskas totaled 17, Jovante’ Spivey had 14 and Henderson scored 11 for the Bearkats.

Monday’s game started a three-game home stand for Lamar. Incarnate Word will visit LU on Saturday, with tipoff set for 4:30 p.m.