Lamar sports information

BEAUMONT – Six players scored in double figures as Lamar defeated Howard Payne, 112-56, Saturday afternoon at the Montagne Center.

The victory provides LU fans something they haven’t seen in more than two decades as the Red and White improved to 8-1 (.875) on the season. It marks the program’s first 8-1 start since the 1992-93 season, and just the second since the 1982-83 campaign.

“I thought this game was a collective effort,” said LU head coach Tic Price. “Any time you can have six guys in double figures and have 20 assists is very unselfish basketball. I really like the way we shared the ball tonight.”

The Cardinals shot 50 percent from the field in a game they never trailed. Big Red finished the day converting 10 of 29 (.345) from three-point range, and a vastly improved 28 of 38 (.718) effort from the free throw line.

A good portion of the Cardinals’ offense came from the extra possessions they gained on defense. Big Red forced Howard Payne into 34 turnovers which LU cashed in for 43 points.

The Yellow Jackets entered the game with a high-powered offense but were held to 21 of 55 (.382) from the field, and a 7-of-16 (.438) effort from three-point land. HPU entered the contest with one of the nation’s leading scorers in Beaumont native Khyce Randall (27.8 ppg), but the Cardinals figured out a way to slow him down. Randall was held to just 14 points on 5-of-14 (.357) shooting, and six of his points came late in the game.

“We held one of the top scorers in the nation to just 14 points, and he got six of those late in the game,” said Price. “(Khyce Randall) entered the game averaging 27.8 points per game. Zjori Bosha did a really good job guarding him and Colton (Weisbrod) did a good job helping on the trap. We were in sync for the most part defensively tonight.”

Juniors Josh Nzeakor and Nick Garth finished the night with a game-high 18 points. Senior Colton Weisbrod scored 17 points and pulled down seven rebounds, while Bosha added 12 points and a game-high seven rebounds. Senior Joey Frenchwood chipped in 10, while sophomore T.J. Atwood scored 10 points and pulled down five rebounds in his first career start.

LU outscored Howard Payne, 53-24, in the paint, and had a 45-3 advantage in points off turnovers. The Cardinals turned the ball over just 12 times on the night while recording 23 steals. Every Cardinal who checked in the lineup scored at least three points, and all but one pulled down at least a rebound. The Red and White only had three players who didn’t record at least one steal.

The Cardinals took their first double-digit lead on a free throw from freshman Avery Sullivan with 11:28 remaining in the first half and never looked back. LU outscored its guests, 30-15, over the next eight minutes of the contest building a 25-point advantage, 50-25, with 3:31 remaining. The Cardinals kept up the pressure and carried a 30-point lead into the locker room at halftime.

It was more of the same to start the second half. The Cardinals opened the second on a 23-3 run to build an 80-30 lead with less than five minutes gone. Howard Payne never seriously threatened for the remainder of the game.

The Cardinals will now look to carry the momentum from Saturday’s win, and their 8-1 start, into their upcoming season-long four-game road trip. The swing will take LU to Southern Illinois, Duquesne and Las Vegas for two games before taking a couple days off for the Christmas holidays. The first game of the road trip will be Sunday, Dec. 17, at Southern Illinois. The game against the Salukis will tip off at 3 p.m. from Carbondale, Ill., and can be heard live on Newstalk 560 KLVI.