BEAUMONT, Texas – Lamar University got double-doubles from juniors Colton Weisbrod and Joey Frenchwood as Big Red closed the non-conference portion of its schedule with a 90-63 victory over Huston-Tillotson Thursday night at the Montagne Center. The Cardinals close out 2016, and enter Southland Conference play, riding a season-long three-game win streak.
 
Weisbrod finished the game with 19 points and a game-high 10 rebounds. Frenchwood added 12 points and 10 assists, which is his third double-double in as many nights.
 
Weisbrod and sophomore Josh Nzeakor finished the night 16-of-20 (.800) from the field, leading a Cardinals' offense that ended the game 36-of-62 (.581) from the field, including a 61.5-percent performance in the second half. Nzeakor finished the game with 17 points and six rebounds. Sophomore Nick Garth added nine points, while freshman Cameron McGee came off the bench to chip in nine.
 
"Colton Weisbrod did an outstanding job for us tonight in the low post," said LU head coach Tic Price. "He has great footwork, and did a great job of recognizing the double and triple teams. Josh Nzeakor also did a really good job tonight, especially in the second half. He really stepped up for us."
 
Huston-Tillotson finished the night 28-of-63 (.444) from the field, but was hurt by turnovers. The Cardinals forced their guests into 18 turnovers which LU converted into 22 points. Big Red only turned the ball over 10 times allowing just six points off those turnovers.
 
The Rams were led by two players in double figures. Vernest Dotson scored 13 points on 6-of-10 shooting, while Jalen Norwood added 12.
 
Despite the 27-point margin of victory, the Rams managed to keep the game exciting in the first half although LU never trailed in the game. The Cardinals lead never got above single digits until the 9:06 mark of the opening half following a Weisbrod layup to cap a 7-0 LU run. The Rams responded with baskets from Norwood and Dotson to cut the lead back to six points. Norwood added another basket in the paint with less than five remaining in the half to trim LU's lead down to four, 32-28.
 
The lead was just six when Big Red scored six of the final eight points in the half to take a 10-point lead, 47-37, into the locker room. The Cardinals got an and-one from Nzeakor followed by a McGee three-pointer before Huston-Tillotson closed the half with a layup from Dotson.
 
The Cardinals began to flex their muscles to open the second half. The Cardinals got a three-pointer from Garth to start the half, and the Rams responded with a basket on their end of the floor. LU responded quickly to the basket finding Nzeakor for a dunk seven seconds later. Nzeakor's basket ignited the fans and sparked a 25-4 run to build a 31-point advantage. The Rams never got closer than 25 points after that.
 
"We've played some very tough opponents during the non-conference season, so this has been a tough stretch for our new guys," said Price. "We've seen some varying styles of play which will prepare us as we head into conference play. We scheduled our non-conference this way by design. We wanted it to be tough on purpose. It was meant as a learning experience to prepare us for the Southland."
 
The Cardinals will open the New Year, and Southland play, Monday when they travel to Conway, Ark. to take on Central Arkansas. The game against the Bears is slated to begin at 8 p.m. from the Farris Center.
 
-LU CARDINALS-