Lamar sports information

EDINBURG — Junior Zjori Bosha came off the bench to score a career-high 21 points, and was one of five Cardinals in double figures but Lamar couldn’t overcome a second-half run by UT Rio Grande Valley. The Cardinals fell to UTRGV, 95-81, Friday evening at the UTRGV Fieldhouse.

Trailing by three points early in the second-half, UTRGV (5-8) used an 18-3 run to turn a three-point deficit into a 12-point advantage and never looked back. The Cardinals never got closer than 12 as the Vaqueros posted their third consecutive victory.

“We got beat tonight by not doing the things that we normally do best,” said LU head coach Tic Price. “We were backing off our traps and they attacked us and had good rotations. I thought at times we played scared tonight, especially in the second half. We didn’t do a good enough job defensively. We knew the first 8 to 10 minutes of the second half would be crucial and we didn’t match their intensity.”

UTRGV caught fire in the second half knocking down 22 of 32 (.688) attempts and finished the game just under 60 percent (.587). The Vaqueros knocked down nine three-pointers (9 of 21, .429), and outrebounded the Cardinals by five, 41-36.

UTRGV finished the night with six players in double figures led by Antonio Green’s 16 points and 11 rebounds. Lesley Varner Jr. came off the bench to add 15 points and seven rebounds.

Junior Colton Weisbrod joined Bosha in double figures with his team-leading fourth double-double of the season. He finished the night with 14 points and 14 rebounds, but scored only two points in second half.

As a team the Cardinals were 27-of-66 (.409) from the field after rebounding from a slow first half to shoot 46 percent in the second. LU took advantage of UTRGV’s carelessness with the basketball. The Vaqueros turned the ball over 21 times and the Cardinals cashed those mistakes in for 24 points.

The reserves gave both teams a huge boost Friday. UTRGV got 52 points from its bench, while the Cardinals subs netted 50 points.

Joining Bosha and Weisbrod in double figures were junior Joey Frenchwood (14 points) and sophomores Dorian Chatman (12 points) and Nick Garth (11 points).