Lamar sports information

BEAUMONT, Texas – On a night when Lamar held No. 19 McNeese to just 13 points, the offense could only muster a 43-yard field goal off the leg of freshman kicker Elvin Martinez falling by a final score of 13-3.

The Cardinals finished the season with a 2-9 overall record and a 1-7 mark in Southland Conference play. McNeese will learn of its postseason fate during the NCAA Selection Show this morning.

The Cardinals held McNeese to 351 yards of total offense, while being held to 207. The majority of LU’s offense came through the air as Big Red was held to just 12 yards rushing. Senior quarterback Blake McKenzie closed out his career by completing 23 passes for 195 yards. McKenzie’s favorite target was sophomore Case Robinson who hauled in five catches for 59 yards.

The gutsy performance by the Cardinals’ defense provided the offense with a couple of opportunities to put points on the board, but LU was unable to take advantage. The Cardinals finished the night with two interceptions, both of which gave LU the ball inside the red zone and both times the Cards came away empty handed.

The Cowboys took advantage of the first missed opportunity by moving the ball down the field 69 yards on four plays for the first score of the game. Tabary ended the drive with a 46-yard pass to Tavarious Battiste for the score. It was the first score of the game and it came with 13:22 remaining in the second quarter.

McNeese would tack on three more points at the end of the half after some gamesmanship on the field. The Cowboys would eventually line up to attempt a 52-yard field goal but not before McNeese called one more timeout and LU called two more timeouts. After five consecutive timeouts McNeese’s Gunnar Raborn converted the 52-yarder to give his squad a 10-0 advantage heading into the locker room.

The Cowboys added another field goal before the Cardinals got on the scoreboard midway through the fourth quarter.