Lamar Beats Rice for Third Consecutive Year
Lamar 77, Rice 61
BEAUMONT, Texas - Anthony Miles scored a career-high 28 points and recorded his third double-double of the season to lead Lamar to a 77-61 win over Rice at the Montagne Center Wednesday night.
Lamar (5-7) had five players - all starters - reach double figures for the first time this season as it defeated Rice for the third-consecutive year. The Cardinals shot 49 percent and tied their season-high with six 3-pointers as Miles drained four himself.
In addition to Miles, Charlie Harper had 14 points, Coy Custer had a season-high 13 and a career-best five blocks, with Justin Nabors and Kendrick Harris adding 10 points each.
Rice (5-6) shot just 38 percent and was held to 61 points for the second-straight game. Tamir Jackson led the Owls with 15 points and five steals. Arsalan Kazemi finished with 13 points and nine rebounds.
Lamar held a 43-33 edge on the glass.
Trailing 18-16 midway through the first half, Lamar went on an 11-0 run to grab a 27-18 lead. It was the fifth - and final - lead change of the contest as the Cardinals went into the locker room with a 38-26 advantage as Miles contributed seven points in an 11-3 Lamar run.
Lamar's lead ballooned to 17 points following a pair of layups by Nabors 90 tics into the second half. Rice trimmed the deficit to seven with 10-straight points but Lamar regrouped and got the margin back into double figures with two long treys from Miles. The lead eventually grew to a game-high 20 on a pair of free throw from Custer in the final minutes.
Lamar will play host to St. Gregory's on Wednesday. Start time at the Montagne Center is set for 7:05 p.m.
Monmouth 65, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 51
WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. - Texas A&M-Corpus Christi was held two points in the final seven minutes Wednesday night as Monmouth pulled away down the stretch for a 65-51 victory at the M.A.C. Center.
The Islanders rallied from a 14-point second-half deficit to take a 49-46 lead on a three-point basket by Shamar Coombs, but it was their final field goal of the game managing just two free throws in the final 6-1/2 minutes. The host Hawks went on a 19-2 to close out the game.
Justin Sofman had seven of his team-high 18 points during the stretch to help the Hawks pull away. He had five of his team's nine three-point baskets.
Kevin Palmer finished with 21 points, eight rebounds and four steals, but was just 7-of-18 from the floor and 1-of-8 from the arc. He did hit 6-of-7 from the foul line. Palmer had nine turnovers for the second straight game as the Islanders finished with a season-high 25 miscues. Demond Watt added 10 points and four blocks, while Justin Reynolds led with nine rebounds.
Monmouth held the Islanders to a season-low 21 points in the opening half.
Sofman was joined in double figures by Travis Taylor who had 14 points and 11 rebounds. Will Campbell had 13 points and James Hett had 10 to go with seven assists.
The loss was the fourth straight for the Islanders, who return home at 4-6. Monmouth moves to 4-9.
A&M-Corpus Christi returns to the American Bank Center on Monday to face Oklahoma Panhandle State at 4:30 p.m.