BEAUMONT, Texas – The Lamar University Cardinals scored 28 of their 31 points in the second half but came up short against No. 3 Sam Houston State, 44-31, Saturday night at Provost Umphrey Stadium. The Bearkats (2-0/1-0 Southland) jumped out to a 30-3 first-half lead and held on in the fourth quarter to hand LU its third consecutive loss to start the season.
 
"It was too much Sam Houston State in the first half," said LU head coach Ray Woodard. "They did a lot of things right and we didn't. Offensively, this was the most balanced attack we've seen this season. They gave us problems both running and passing the ball. We left our defense on the field way too much in the first half."
 
Sam Houston State racked up nearly 600 yards of total offense (598), including 270 on the ground. The Cardinals recorded 325 of their 405 yards of total offense in the second half. LU finished the night with 227 yards on the ground.
 
Last season, then-junior running back Kade Harrington had a breakout game against SHSU rushing for 230 yards and a couple of scores. The Bearkats made Harrington the center of their focus Saturday holding the Kingwood, Texas native to 76 yards on 25 carries.
 
On the flip side, SHSU had three backs rush for at least 50 yards in the contest, led by Corey Avery. Avery finished the night with 136 yards and a score on 17 carries, while Javin Webb carried the ball 19 times for 93 yards and a score.
 
The Bearkats got the first score of the game less than 90 seconds into the contest as Avery capped a five-play, 75-yard drive with a nine-yard touchdown run. SHSU held the 7-0 advantage for the next nine minutes until LU mounted a scoring drive of its own. The Cards had an 18-play, 54-yard drive that stalled out on the Kats' 27 yard line. Senior kicker Alex Ball came in and booted a 44-yard field goal through the uprights to put Big Red on the scoreboard, but that would be LU's only points of the half.
 
SHSU answered with their second touchdown of the game less than two minutes later. The Bearkats tacked on two more points when LU was called for intentional grounding in the end zone. Leading by 13 with less than five minutes remaining the half, the Bearkats' Jeremiah Briscoe found Derrick Dick from 35 yards out for a score. Sam Houston closed out the half with a four-play, 75-yard drive which took 70 seconds off the clock. The scoring drive gave Sam Houston a 30-3 lead heading into the locker room.
 
It was a different story in the second half. LU started the half with a 79-second drive that ended with Andrew Allen connecting with Zae Giles from 56 yards out. The score cut the deficit down to 20 points, 30-10, and Big Red's defense responded by keeping SHSU off the board for nearly 10 minutes. Sam Houston was able to answer back with a Briscoe to Tyler Scott pass from 14 yards away to build the lead back to 27 with 3:50 remaining.
 
The Cardinals got on the board again before the end of the quarter when senior Brendan Langley scored on a fake punt. The senior defense back took the fake 55 yards and weaved his way through traffic for the score cutting the deficit back down to 20 points.
 
LU appeared to be moving to another quick score when senior Xavier Bethany picked off a pass deep in Cardinals' territory. Bethany made his way back to midfield before being stripped of the ball which was recovered by the Bearkats. The LU defense held getting the ball back, but an injury to Allen – who got the start – forced senior Carson Earp to come on in relief. Earp responded by breaking off a 67-yard run up the middle for a score. LU pulled to within 13 with six minutes remaining in the contest, but that would be as close out the Cards would get as the two teams closed out the half by tacking a touchdown.
 
"I was proud of how we fought in the second half," said Woodard. "We have a lot of young players who kept playing. We saw some positive things in the second half and we can build on that. We have to get better but my hats off to Sam Houston."
 
Allen finished the game 19-of-36 for 178 yards and two touchdowns, while Briscoe was 24-of-35 for 328 yards and three scores for the Kats. He was also picked off twice in the contest. Allen's favorite target was Giles who hauled in a career-high seven passes for 93 yards and a score.
 
"I thought Andrew (Allen) gave us a better chance to move the football and to win tonight," said Woodard. "I think he did some good things, and I think he'll be much better after this game. It wasn't really a fair evaluation after last week because we didn't let him throw enough at Houston."
 
The Cardinals had three players finish the night with double-figure tackles, led by sophomore Cameron Hampton's 12. Tanner Kanteman added 11 stops, including two for losses and a sack, and was also credited with a fumble recovery. Bethany added 10 stops picked off a pass and deflected two others.
 
The Cardinals will have two weeks to prepare for the Southeastern Louisiana. LU will be back in action Saturday, Oct. 1, when it hosts the Lions. The game will kick off at 7 p.m., and will be the team's final 7 p.m. home kick off of the season.
 
-LU CARDINALS-