Lamar sports information
SAN FRANCISCO — The Lamar men’s basketball team shot better than 57 percent in the second half against San Francisco, but couldn’t overcome an early second-half surge from the Dons. USF used a 14-2 second-half run to pull away from LU handing the Red and White an 82-63 setback.
“I wasn’t happy with our performance tonight,” said LU head coach Tic Price. “We had a couple kids get sick on this trip and our last three practices haven’t been up to our standards. I was very concerned about this game tonight. I take my hat off to USF. That is a very good basketball team and they were ready to play tonight.”
The Cardinals (4-3) shot 47 percent from the field, but could manage just 4 of 13 (.308) from beyond the arc. USF’s hot start to the second half led to a 50-percent performance from the field for the game. The Dons were held well below their season-average from beyond the arc knocking down just 7-of-25 (.280) attempts.
After outrebounding Idaho State by 19 three nights ago, the Cardinals were outrebounded Friday by 10, 37-27, including 14 offensive rebounds for the Dons. Their advantage on the glass led to a 23-8 difference in second change points.
The Cardinals were led in scoring by junior Colton Weisbrod who finished the night with 24 points and eight rebounds. Native Californian Joey Frenchwood added 18 points on 7-of-11 shooting.
LU did a good job of keeping USF’s leading scorer, Ronnie Boyce, a non-factor. He was held to eight points on 4-of-12 shooting. Chase Foster led the Dons with 20 points.
After a slow start, the Cardinals finished the first half shooting 13-of-32 (.406) from the field. LU’s defense also held San Francisco just a tick below its season average in the opening half, 15-of-31 (.484). Unfortunately, the Cardinals could not withstand an early second-half surge from their opponents. USF opened the second half with a 14-2 run to build an 18-point advantage less than four minutes into the half. Big Red never got closer than 15 points after that.