March 4, 2009

Box Score

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas - Brandon McThay scored 22 points but Lamar couldn't overcome a rough shooting night inside in falling to Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, 69-60, at the American Bank Center on Wednesday night.

Lamar (15-14, 6-9 SLC) shot 40 percent and missed nearly a dozen shots in the paint. A&M-Corpus Christi (16-14, 10-5 SLC) 45 percent and scored half of its 40 second-half points from the free throw line.

The Cardinals can secure the final spot in the Southland Conference Tournament with a win against Nicholls State on Saturday, or a loss by Southeastern Louisiana. The Lions play at Northwestern State on Saturday at 2 p.m.

McThay, who had 17 points on 5-of-5 in the second half, made three of Lamar's six 3-pointers and was 6-of-9 from the field overall. Ashton Hall added 12 points with four rebounds, two assists and two blocks.

The Islanders were led by Kevin Palmer's 16 points. He made just three shots from the floor but was 10-of-14 from the charity stripe. A&M-CC held a 44-23 edge on the glass and converted 20 offensive rebounds into a 17-10 margin.

With A&M-CC leading 10-8, the Islanders made three-consecutive 3-pointers as part of a 13-1 run to push their lead to 23-9 with 7:45 to play. The Cardinals fought back with a 13-6 run to close the gap to 29-22 heading into the locker room.

Lamar shot just 39 percent in the first half, while the Islanders shot 46 percent and held a 20-9 edge on the glass. Jay Brown and McThay led the way for the Cards with five points each.

Lamar opened the second period on a 5-1 run to cut the margin to 30-27. But Corpus Christi went on a 10-3 run to push it back to 40-30 over the next three minutes. The Islanders stretched the lead to 16 with 4:05 to play before the Cardinals held a 19-12 advantage to close out the game. Lamar got to within eight on an Ashton Hall 3-pointer with 1:19 left but couldn't get any closer.

Lamar will close out the regular-season on Saturday night at 7:05 p.m. against Nicholls State (18-10, 11-4 SLC) in the Montagne Center. Tickets are available for $4 in honor of the four seniors who will be playing their final home game.