Lamar sports information

CORPUS CHRISTI – Senior Moe Kinard netted a game-high 24 points to lead Lamar to a 72-47 victory over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi at the American Bank Center Saturday afternoon. Senior Chastadie Barrs just missed another triple double (16 points, 17 rebounds and nine rebounds) in the victorious effort as LU remains atop the Southland standings.

The Cardinals (21-5, 14-1 SLC) shot 39 percent from the field, including four three-pointers, while outrebounding the Islanders, 48-40. Big Red also took advantage of 28 Islander turnovers which were cashed in for 36 points (LU held a 36-15 advantage in points off turnovers). The Cards also recorded a 15-11 advantage on second chance points.

In addition to Kinard and Barrs, sophomore Jadyn Pimentel added 13 points and five assists.

The Red and White also recorded a decided advantage in the paint. LU outscored the Islanders, 44-20, in the paint. A&M-Corpus Christi struggled to find its rhythm from the field. After scoring the first four points of the game, the Islanders were held to a 19-of-60 (.317) performance – recording nine fewer field goals than LU. The Islanders had only one player reach double figures – Alexes Bryant (10 points).

“I’m very proud of this team today, because this is never an easy place to play,” said LU head coach Robin Harmony. “They were throwing a lot of just at us and our kids really handled it well. I think that will help us down the road. We had this game circled on our schedule because of how tough it is to come here and win.”

A&M-Corpus Christi scored the game’s first four points and LU didn’t take its first lead of the game until nearly three minutes into the action, but once they did Big Red began to flex its muscles. The Cardinals grabbed the lead on a Kinard jumper which sparked a 17-5 run to build a 22-9 advantage midway through the second quarter.

LU never backed off the pressure and pushed its lead to as many as 18, 34-16, heading into the locker room.

The Cardinals doubled up the number of makes from their hosts in the opening half. LU was 14-of-35 (.400) from the field, while limiting the Islanders to seven makes on 28 attempts. The Red and White also made A&M-Corpus Christi pay for their turnovers in the opening 20 minutes. The Cards forced nine turnovers and cashed the mistakes in for 14 points. LU outrebounded the Islanders, 26-17, in the opening 20 minutes including 12 offensive boards and held a 9-1 advantage in second chance points heading into the locker room.

It was more of the same to start the second half of action as the Cards opened the third quarter on a 9-4 run to build a 23-point lead four minutes into the quarter. The Red and White saw their advantage balloon to as many as 25 early in the third quarter. A&M-Corpus made a minor run early in the fourth quarter to trim a 26-point deficit down to 18 points with just over seven minutes remaining, but the outcome was never in jeopardy.

The Cardinals return to action Wednesday when they travel to Houston Baptist. The game against the Huskies will tip off at 7 p.m. from Sharp Gym.