Dec. 20, 2006

Box Score

BEAUMONT - All five Lamar University starters scored in double-figures, led by Lamar Sanders' 21 points, as the Cardinals used a 10-0 run early in the first half and cruised to a 74-53 won over Northern Illinois Wednesday night in non-conference men's basketball action at the Montagne Center.

Lamar, who has won two of its last three games, improved to 5-7 overall. NIU lost its sixth straight game and is 3-6 on the season. After taking off a few days for the Christmas holiday, the Cardinals return to action Dec. 28 with a 7 p.m. game at No. 18-ranked Memphis.

With the game tied at 9-9, James Davis hit a layup at14:23 that put Lamar up for good. It also started a 10-0 run capped by a Darren Hopkins three-pointer that gave the Cardinals a 19-9 lead with 11:31 remaining in the opening stanza.

A Davis tip-in pushed the lead to 13 points, 24-11, at 9:04. A Currye Todd layup with 54 seconds left in the half gave the Cardinals a 21-point lead, 41-20, and capped an 8-1 run. NIU's Mike McKinney hit a three-pointer from the top of the key at the buzzer to make the score 41-23 at halftime.

A Lawrence Nwevo layup and a 3-pointer by Todd extended Lamar's lead to 23 points, 48-25, with 16:04 left in the game. Lamar maintained at least a 14-point lead the rest of the way and led by as much as 25, 74-49, following a Sanders alley-oop dunk at 2:03.

Sanders was 9 of 11 from the field and 3 of 6 from the free throw line in scoring a season-high 21 points. He also grabbed a season-best 17 rebounds to record his fifth double-double of the season. Davis added 14 points on 6 of 9 shooting from the field, grabbed five rebounds, dished out six assists and blocked a season-best four shots.

Hopkins and Todd each scored 13 points. Hopkins also dished out five assists and blocked a season-high two shots. Matthew Barrow added 11 points on 4 of 7 shooting from the field, including 3 of 4 from 3-point range.

Lamar shot 50 percent (29-of-58) from the field, which tied its season-best, 45 percent (9-of-20) from 3-point range and 58.3 percent (7-of-12) from the free throw line. The Cardinals outrebounded NIU 36 to 32 and forced 18 turnovers, which led to a 24-8 advantage in points off turnovers.

McKinney led NIU with 13 points on 5 of 10 shooting from the field, including 3 of 4 from 3-point range. James Hughes and Zach Pancratz each added 10 points. Bristan Kelley grabbed a team-high eight rebounds.

NIU shot 40 percent (22-of-55) from the field, 40 percent (4-of-10) from 3-point range and 62.5 percent (5-of-8) from the free throw line.