SAN ANTONIO — Freshman Nate Calmese converted his first eight attempts (including five three-pointers and finished the game with 27 points to lead Lamar University to a 68-59 victory at UIW Thursday evening from the McDermott Center.
The Cardinals finished the game knocking down 25-of-57 (.439) from the field and 9-of-17 (.529) from three-point range. The Cardinals trailed on the boards at halftime but finished the game with a 41-37 advantage.
Calmese was joined in double-digits by Chris Pryor who added 10 points, while freshman Yuto Yamanouchi scored eight points and pulled down a team-high 12. Despite not scoring, sophomore Terry Anderson had a big night in other ways pulling down eight rebounds, dishing out five assists and recording two blocks.
UIW finished the night shooting 20-of-57 (.351) from the field and had four players in double figures, but they struggled in the second half after knocking down 50 percent of their attempts in the opening 20 minutes.
The first half was a back-and-forth tilt that saw neither team back down. Both teams had leads, there were numerous ties and neither Cardinal was willing to let the other gain a significant advantage.
The good guys knocked down seven of their first 14 attempts, including a 6-of-6 start from Calmese, but UIW battled right back as neither squad could gain an advantage greater than three points in the opening half.
UIW ended the half with a Josh Morgan triple at the buzzer to go into the locker room with a three-point lead, 39-38.
Big Red finished the half 14-of-25 (.560) from the field, including a 4-of-8 (.500) effort on threes.
After a slow start, UIW finished the half 14-of-28 (.500) from the field and 4-of-8 from long range. San Antonio’s version of the Cardinals won the battle on the glass in the opening 20 minutes, 17-13.
Despite the basket at the buzzer, it was Lamar that came out of the locker room with the momentum scoring the first five points of the half to reclaim the lead. Big Red got a three-pointer from freshman Cody Pennebaker to give LU a four-point lead – the largest of the night for either team. The basket sparked an 8-0 run as LU took a nine-point lead with 12:46 left.
The run ended with an and-one from Jonathan Cisse. UIW got the lead down to six with 11:34 remaining in the contest. The and-one opportunity sparked a 14-5 UIW run which tied the game at 56 with less than five to play. The run finally came to an end when Calmese buried a three from the wing – his fifth of the night – to give LU back a three-point advantage.
Calmese’s triple sparked an 8-0 run giving Big Red a 64-56 advantage with less than two to play. The run ended at the free throw line Niki Krause hit two free throws, but it was too little too late as LU’s final run put the game out of reach.
The Cardinals return to action Saturday when they travel to Corpus Christi, Texas to face Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. The game against the Islanders will tip off at 3 p.m. from the American Bank Center.
