Guest abovetherim Posted January 26, 2008 Report Posted January 26, 2008 The Port Arthur News NATCHITOCHES, La. — Lamar University’s depth and defensive pressure proved to be the difference Saturday afternoon, as the Cardinals performed an exorcism on the 800-pound gorilla that’s been wearing the uniform of Northwestern State. Getting a huge boost off the bench from Jay Brown, and 32 points off 22 Northwestern turnovers, the Cardinals ended a seven-game losing streak to the Demons with a 91-82 victory at Prather Coliseum. Brown, subbing for foul plagued Lamar Sanders, scored a career best 15 points and added five rebounds, three steals and a blocked shot in 16 minutes. The victory gave Lamar a sweep of a two game road trip, boosted the front-running Cardinals to 4-1 in the Southland Conference and lifted them to 10-8 on the season. Northwestern State dropped to 3-3, 7-13. While Brown was the difference maker, he was hardly the only star for the Cardinals. Point guard Kenny Dawkins signed off on a stat line that showed 18 points, 9 assists, 5 rebounds and 3 steals. Darren Hopkins, who has clearly turned the corner, contributed 15 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists. Matthew Barrow added 13 points and seven rebounds. Lamar needed effort bit of the heroics to overcome its best player, Lamar Sanders, scoring only five points and getting just two rebounds, while being limited to 17 minutes by foul trouble. Two nights earlier, in an overtime win at Central Arkansas, Sanders had scored 18 points and grabbed 14 rebounds in 42 minutes. “If you had told me ahead of time that Lamar would have only five points and two rebounds, I’d have said we were going to lose,†Roccaforte said. “Jay Brown stepped up and gave us a huge lift. “He played well at Central Arkansas. We wouldn’t have won there without him. We certainly wouldn’t have won without him today. We maybe put the expectations too high on him early. We knew he was a good player. It’s just taken him a while to adapt.†Brown was part of a bench effort that accounted for 35 points. Justin Nabors, after sitting out the Central Arkansas game with a shoulder injury, returned to add 7 points and 5 rebounds in a reserve role. Currye Todd contributed to the bench brigade’s output with a pair of treys for six points. A key factor for the Cardinals was getting Northwestern State’s shooters cooled off in the second half. The Demons, after connecting at a sizzling 60.7 clip (17-of-28) in the opening period, managed only 12-of-29 after the break and finished at 50.9 percent. Lamar shot 48.6 from the floor (34-of-70), 42.9 on treys (9-of-21) and 73.7 at the foul line (14-of-19). The Cardinals also dominated the glass, pulling down 42 rebounds to 29 for the Demons. Twenty of Lamar’s rebounds were on the offensive end. Because of all the steals — 13 for Lamar, 14 for the Demons — and turnovers, it was a game of runs. The most important one was a 22-4 Cardinal charge that turned a 55-52 deficit into a 74-59 lead with 11:16 to play. During that stretch of 6:16, Lamar made 8-of-9 shots, including 4-of-4 three pointers. Barrow, Dawkins, Nabors and Sanders all connected from behind the bonus arc. Northwestern State, however, wouldn’t go quietly and twice got within three — 83-80 and 85-82 — in the final three minutes. Both times, Dawkins, who played through foul trouble in both halves, responded with a momentum-breaking basket. He then hit both ends of a 1&1 at 0:41 for an 89-82 lead. Brown, who made 7-of-8 free throws, turned out the lights by sinking his final pair at 0:33. Lamar had gotten off to a quick start on the strength of a 9-0 run for a 14-5 lead in the first three minutes. But, with the Cardinals leading 19-9, the Demons went on a 16-2 tear fueled by two treys from Kountze’s Keithan Hancock for a 25-21 lead. A Dawkins bucket got the Cardinals untracked and it became a back-and-forth game of ties and lead changes. Four late points from Brown gave Lamar a 50-47 lead at halftime. “There are so many good things about this win,†said Roccaforte. “But the best thing is we are still the only team in the conference with only one loss, and it’s going to stay that way for at least a week.†Lamar returns to action Saturday night at the Montange Center against McNeese State. — Bob West http://www.panews.com/sports/local_story_026220225.html?start:int=15
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