LOCAL    

CARDINAL MEN CLAIM RICE INVITE TITLE

HOUSTON — Iliass Aouani’s runner-up finish on an 18-minute, 40.73-second time led three Lamar cross country runners in the top 10 and helped the men’s team claim first place of 13 teams at the Rice Invitational on Friday at the Rice Intramural Fields. The women captured fifth place among 11 teams.

Aouani, freshman in his first collegiate, finished behind Houston’s junior Brian Barraza that clocked in 18:33.72 in the 5.5-kilometer race. Along with him in the top 10 were Alex Dunbar at fourth place (18:51.81) and Gabriel Steffenson at sixth (18:57.52). 

The guys finished ahead of Houston (second) and league teams McNeese State (third), Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (fifth), Incarnate Word (sixth), and Houston Baptist (ninth). 

The women’s team had the third, fourth and fifth finishers in Evelyn Chavez, Verity Ockenden and Jannika John, respectively.

LAMAR EARNS THIRD STRAIGHT VB WIN

RUSTON, La. — Lamar’s game from the end line forced Southern out of system, which led to a season-best minus-.047 opponent hitting percentage by the Jaguars in the Cardinals volleyball team’s 3-0 (25-12, 25-16, 25-19) win at the Louisiana Tech Invitational on Friday.

Chelsea Grant  for Lamar (6-3)led the way with 11 kills, her fourth double-digit tally, on 18 attacks and only two errors. She continued her strong defense with four total blocks, and on the end line she had two service aces.

NORTH TEXAS SHUTS OUT LAMAR SOCCER

DENTON — The Lamar Cardinals couldn’t overcome a slow start in a 6-0 loss to the host North Texas Mean Green in a non-conference women’s soccer game Friday night.

North Texas (6-1-0), which received votes in the national poll earlier this season, took a 1-0 lead just 3:27 into the game and never looked back. The Mean Green made it a busy night for LU (3-4) goalkeeper Lauren Lovejoy, who faced a season-high 39 shots, North Texas had a 39-2 advantage in shots, including a 14-1 edge in shots on goal.

STATE    

LEWIS NEAR-PERFECT IN RANGERS’ WIN

ARLINGTON (AP) — Colby Lewis took a perfect game into the eighth inning before settling for a two-hitter, leading the Texas Rangers past the Oakland Athletics 4-0 Friday night.

Lewis, who was 0-3 with an 8.62 ERA in his previous three starts, got a standing ovation from the home crowd after Danny Valencia’s double down the left-field line to start the eighth.

The 36-year-old right-hander (15-8) needed just 97 pitches to set a career best in wins, beating his previous high of 14 from the second of two straight World Series seasons for the Rangers in 2011.

Mitch Moreland snapped an 18-inning scoreless streak for Texas with a two-run double in a three-run first inning off Oakland starter Jesse Chavez (7-15).

ASTROS’ AL WEST LEAD CUT TO 1 1/2

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — The Los Angeles Angels parlayed a fielding error by Houston pitcher Dallas Keuchel into three unearned runs in the second inning and went on to beat the AL West-leading Astros 3-2 on Friday night.

The Astros closed to 3-2 in the sixth on Carlos Gomez’s fourth homer, a towering drive to left-center.