Lamar sports information

CORPUS CHRISTI – Senior Nick Garth scored a game-high 21 points to help Lamar University hold off a late Texas A&M-Corpus Christi charge, 63-58, Saturday afternoon at the American Bank Center. The victory is LU’s fifth straight on the road.

Garth was one of three Cardinals in double figures as Big Red finished the day 21-of-52 (.404) from the field, including eight three-pointers. The Cardinals forced Corpus Christi into 19 turnovers, which they converted into 23 points on the other end of the floor.

In addition to Garth, freshman Davion Buster netted a career-high 17 points, while junior Jordan Hunter added 12 points.

The Islanders finished the day knocking down 19-of-44 attempts (.432), including six three-pointers, but couldn’t overcome the miscues. Corpus Christi was led by 17 points from Emmanuel Toney.

“A&M-Corpus Christi is not a team that quits, so we knew it wasn’t going to be easy,” said LU associate head coach Bobby Kummer. “If you look at their most recent games – they beat SFA by 10 and lost to Sam Houston on a missed free throw – so we knew they were going to grind it out. We just kept telling our guys to keep battling, and you have to give them credit. Our kids never quit fighting.”

After surrendering the opening basket, the Cardinals responded with consecutive threes and forced A&M-Corpus Christi into consecutive turnovers. Unfortunately, the Cardinals were unable to thoroughly take advantage of the Islanders’ miscues missing 11 of their first 14 attempts. Despite the 3-of-14 start (all three makes were three-pointers), the Cardinals went into the under-12 minute media timeout tied at 9.

LU’s offense finally settled down after the slow start and hit on its next three possessions to create a small cushion, 17-11, with just under 9 minutes remaining in the opening half. Senior Josh Nzeakor was a part of the run as he knocked down his first basket with 6:30 in the first. Big Red followed moments later with another Garth three-ball to take a nine-point lead, 22-13, with just over five remaining until the intermission.

Corpus Christi responded with a 7-0 run before junior Jordan Hunter ended the run with a baseline jumper at the 3:07 mark. After a couple stops defensively, the Cardinals added to their lead with a Davion Buster triple in the corner. The basket gave LU a seven-point lead, 27-20, with 1:48 remaining until half. The Cards pushed the lead back to nine moments later before taking a 29-22 lead into the intermission.

The Cardinals finished the half shooting 11-of-30 (.367) from the field with five three-pointers and forced their hosts into eight turnovers. Big Red converted the eight miscues into 10 points. A&M-Corpus Christi was 8-of-23 (.348) from the field in the opening 20 minutes of action.

Both offenses struggled to start the second half as A&M-Corpus Christi turned it over on two of its first three possessions and the Cardinals opened with three consecutive miscues. The Islanders were the first to draw blood in the second half with an Irshaad Hunte basket. The Islanders scored six consecutive points to open the second before LU stopped the run with two Garth free throws. The score remained 31-28 for several minutes before Garth found Buster open on the left wing for his second triple of the game (34-28, 12:53 remaining). The basket sparked a 17-2 run for the Cardinals.

Similar to the first half, the Cardinals went back to their defense and forced three straight Islander turnovers leading to a Garth basket. The LU defense forced the Islanders into five consecutive miscues before they were able to get off a shot which was blocked. By the time A&M-Corpus Christi attempted its next shot, the Cardinals had built their lead to 11 points, 39-28, following Buster’s third triple. The Cardinals pushed their lead to as many as 13 before Corpus Christi got back on the scoreboard.

Following consecutive Buster scores, including a 25-foot three-pointer as the shot clock sounded, the Red and White built its lead to 16, 46-30, its largest lead of the game. The consecutive baskets forced A&M-Corpus Christi to take a timeout with just over eight minutes remaining. The Cardinals pushed their lead to as many as 17 points late in the game before Corpus Christi got consecutive threes to trim the deficit to 11, 57-46, with just over two minutes remaining.

The Islanders took advantage of some timely three-pointers down the stretch and some LU misses at the free throw line to trim the Cardinals’ lead down to three with 27 seconds remaining. Following a Buster free throw the Cardinals forced a turnover which led to a Hunter free throw. A&M-Corpus Christi followed the Hunter make with a quick basket but were forced to foul Hunter on the ensuing possession and he buried both.

The Cardinals return to action Wednesday when they host Houston Baptist. The game against the Huskies will tip off at 7 p.m. from the Montagne Center, and will be one of three home games to close out the 2018-19 regular season.