The Lions had their 13-game win streak snapped at home with Wednesday’s loss to the Lamar Cardinals, in the University Center. The loss came down to the final minute of the game and ended with the final score being 57-52 in favor of the Cardinals.
Sophomore forward Roosevelt Johnson, typically a reserve, started the game in place of senior forward, Jason Marks and opened the scoring with a lay-up 58 seconds into the first half. From then on, the first half was mainly played in the paint, with junior forward DeShawn Patterson and senior center David Ndoumba taking over the scoring for the Lions, while sophomore forward Stan Brown and senior center Coy Custer took over the scoring duties for the Cardinals. A technical foul by Cardinals freshman center Osas Ebomwonyi for hanging on the rim during a dunk brought senior guard Trent Hutchin to the foul line. Hutchin made the most of both shots, which brought the score to a deadlock at 10-10 at the 12:37 mark in the first half.
The final points of the half came with less than a minute left, when Brown tipped an errant shot into the basket, settling the score at 27-23 in favor of the Lions going into the half.
The beginning of the second half fared just as well for the Lions as the first half did, with Ndoumba making a layup and a free-throw shot, completing the conventional three-point play.
The lead didn’t last long, when the Cardinals took it over 35-34 at the 14 minute mark. From then on, the lead would change hands several times, with no team gaining a discernable lead until the final 15 seconds of play, when the Lions intentionally fouled Cardinals junior guard Anthony Miles and junior forward Charlie Harper, bringing both of them to the foul line, and ending the game 57-52.
Though the Lions led for the majority of the game, many ideas were verbalized as to why the lost.
“There were some lids on the basket. We didn’t shoot it very well,” said Head Coach Jim Yarbrough. “We’ve been shooting well all year, especially in this building, and we didn’t do a very good job offensively when we had opportunities. Lamar’s the second best team in the country in scoring, and we held them to 57 points, 30 points below they’re average, and lost.”
Some players were dissatisfied with the effort.
“We came with no energy, no life. We played with no passion. This is our home court, and we didn’t defend it tonight,” said junior guard Brandon Fortenberry.
Putting this game in the past, the team still looks towards the shortening road ahead, and the tournament in Katy, Texas.
“We have to put this behind, and move to the next game. We cannot think too much about this one, but we can get better,” said Ndoumba.