Lamar Puts Scare Into Texas Tech Before Falling, 79-77, In Lubbock

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Brandon McThay's shot at the buzzer rims out

Jan. 1, 2008

Box Score

LUBBOCK, Texas - After playing from behind the entire game, Lamar had one final shot to upset Texas Tech but Brandon McThay's 3-pointer bounced off the rim as the Cardinals fell 79-77 at the United Spirit Arena Tuesday.

Lamar (5-7) trailed by as many as 11 midway through the second half but used a 27-16 run to tie the game with 1:20 left but were unable to secure their first road win of the season.

Lamar Sanders led four Cardinals in double figures with 13 points, nine rebounds and three steals. Lawrence Nwevo finished with 13 - all in the first half - while Kenny Dawkins and Matthew Barrow equaling Nwevo with 11 apiece. Dawkins and Brandon McThay each handed out five assists.

As a team, Lamar shot 49 percent and made nine 3-pointers. They also controlled the paint for most of the contest with a 34-28 edge in points in the paint and a 29-28 outcome on the glass. But the Cardinals struggled at the free throw line with a season-low percentage of 56 percent.

Texas Tech (8-5) seemed to get the big basket when it needed it and shot 58 percent overall and was 7-of-11 from outside. Martin Zeno had a game-high 28 and was made all 10 of his free throws. John Roberson made 5-of-6 triples and had 21 points to go along with seven assists.

Tech opened up its largest lead of the half with 12:21 to play when Zeno gave the Raiders a 16-6 lead. Lamar then got a Barrow 3-pointer and a pair of fast-break buckets from Brandon McThay that made it a 16-13 ball game.

The teams traded points for much of the remainder of the period with Lamar closing to within a point, 32-31, on a Sanders layup with 2:42 left. The Raiders used a 9-2 run over the next 2:35 to push their lead to 41-33 before a Barrow triple from the corner at the buzzer made it a 41-36 Tech lead at the break.

Lamar shot 49 percent and held a 16-13 edge on the glass, including a 8-2 margin on the offensive end. The Cardinals made a living inside as Nwevo and Sanders combined for 17 points on 8-of-11 shooting. Lamar had 20 points in the paint.

Tech pushed its lead to 61-50 on a Esmir Rizvic layup before a Barrow fast break layup got the deficit back under ten points, 61-52, with 11:16 left. Consecutive threes from Darren Hopkins and Justin Nabors made it 61-58 Tech with 8:35 in the game. The Red Raiders eventually pushed their lead to nine with just under four minutes on the clock.

Then Lamar made one final push.

The Cardinals scored the game's next seven points and cut the margin to 75-73. Zeno made a pair of free throws before Lamar tied it on a pair of Hopkins free throws, which he followed up with a steal and fast-break layup.

After a missed layup by Charlie Burgess, Lamar has a chance to take the lead but coming out of a timeout, Dawkins was trapped and turned it over. On the ensuing possession, Dawkins was called for his fifth foul which allowed Roberson to make both of his attempts from the charity stripe.

Lamar will have a week off before welcoming Utah Valley State to the Montagne Center next Tuesday. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. CT.

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