Kenny Dawkins 21 pts lead seven Cardinals in double digits

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Junior Brandon McThay scored a career-high 17 points and dished out six assists.

Dec. 8, 2007

BEAUMONT - Junior Kenny Dawkins led seven Cardinals in double-figures as Lamar University routed Louisiana College 117-67 Saturday night in non-conference men's basketball action at the Montagne Center.

Lamar, who won its second straight game, improved to 3-5 on the season. LC dropped to 1-5 on the season. The Cardinals hit the road Wednesday for an 8 p.m. (CST) game at No. 21-ranked Brigham Young at the Marriott Center in Provo, Utah. The Cardinals won last year's matchup and the all-time series is tied at 1-1.

After Chukwuma Ekeh scored the game's first points on a layup, Dawkins answered with a three-pointer to give the Cardinals a 3-2 lead. Lamar would never trail again. The Cardinals gradually built the lead to 16 points, 30-14, on a layup by Lamar Sanders at 10:02.

Morey Skluzacek nailed a three-pointer to make the score 30-17 with 9:47 left in the first half. The Cardinals responded with a 16-0 run to take complete control of the game. Sanders capped the run with a dunk at 5:44 that gave Lamar a 29-point cushion.

The Cardinals closed out the first half on a three-pointer by Brandon McThay and a Sanders dunk to take a 62-30 lead into the locker room at halftime. The Cardinals shot a blistering 63.9 percent from the field and 60 percent from three-point range in the opening stanza.

Lamar opened the second half with a 12-2 run to increase its lead to 42 points, 74-32. Dawkins fueled the run with a pair of three-pointers and a layup. Justin Nabors added a layup and a pair of free throws.

Currye Todd's layup at 6:35 gave the Cardinals' their 100th point, the second time this season they have eclipsed the century mark, and gave Lamar a 100-53 lead. A 9-0 run that ended with an Ashton Hall layup gave the Cardinals a 53-point lead, 109-56. Darren Hopkins' layup with 32 seconds left in the game gave Lamar its biggest lead of the night at 54 points, 115-61.   

Dawkins was 6 of 10 from the field, including 5 of 8 from 3-point range, and 4 of 4 from the free throw line in scoring his 21 points. He also added five assists. Junior Brandon McThay scored a career-high 17 points on 6 of 11 shooting, including 5 of 9 from 3-point range, and dished out a season-high six assists with three steals.

Sanders added 15 points on 7 of 10 shooting and had a career-high seven steals. Hopkins and Todd each scored 14 points off the bench. Nabors had 11 points and six rebounds and Brown 10 points on 4 of 5 shooting.

Lamar set season-highs with 57.5 percent (42-of-73) shooting from the field and 51.6 percent (16-of-31) from 3-point range, and shot 68 percent (17-of-25) from the free throw line. The Cardinals outrebounded LC 38 to 23, which led to a 22 to five advantage in second chance points. Lamar also outscored LC 51-13 in bench points.

Josh Johnson led all scorers with 28 points on 11 of 15 shooting from the field, including 2 of 3 from 3-point range, to pace the Wildcats. He also led the team with five rebounds. Daniel Greenhouse chipped in 17 points on 6 of 10 shooting, including 5 of 8 from 3-point range.

LC shot 51 percent (25-of-49) from the field, 44 percent (11-of-25) from 3-point range and 66.7 percent (6-of-9) from the free throw line. Lamar's defense forced 29 turnovers by the Wildcats, which led to 45 points.

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