BEAUMONT – The Lamar Cardinals defended home court at Neches Arena with a 76-65 win over the Texas A&M University-Commerce men's basketball team on Monday night.
 
The Lions fall to 1-4 in Southland Conference play and 7-11 overall, while the Cardinals are 4-2 against Southland teams and 10-9 overall, matching last season's win total.
 
Kwo Agwa (Calgary, Canada) earned the start for the second consecutive game and scored the first six points for the Lions. The game was tied at eight through the first four minutes, until the Cardinals used a 7-0 run to build some cushion.
 
A three-pointer each from Kalen Williams (Augusta, Ga.) and Tommie Lewis (Vero Beach, Fla.) as well as a pair of free throws from KC Ugwuakazi (Boston, Mass.) put the Lions back in the lead on an 8-0 run.
 
The Cardinals held the Lions to just two points in the final five minutes of the first half, building a 29-21 lead at the break. A&M-Commerce shot 26.7 percent from the field in the first and 2 for 17 from deep. Williams posted seven points, three rebounds, an assist, and a steal in the first half.
 
Lamar scored the first two points of the second half, but back-to-back three pointers by Alonzo Dodd (St. Paul, Minn.) pulled the Lions within four and forced a called timeout by the Cardinals, who scored the next six to take a 10-point lead, which was the largest lead of the game up to that point.
 
The Cardinals started the second half shooting 7 for 10, which increased their lead to as high as 14 points at the 13:15 mark of the second half. After the first two made three-pointers by Dodd, the Lions missed their next four.
 
A 9-2 run by the Lions as the Cardinals were 1 for 8 from the field, allowed A&M-Commerce to come to within single digits, but after a technical foul by the Lions, Lamar went 4 for 4 at the line, to go back up by 11, its largest lead the game was 15 points.
 
Williams scored 11 points in the second half and finished the game with 18 points, four steals, five rebounds, and four assists. Dodd led the team with seven rebounds and seven assists, while Lewis scored 14 points with six rebounds and Agwa added 10 points, four rebounds, and three blocks.
 
The Lions shot 35.8 percent from the field, 9 for 39 from outside-the-arc, and 8 for 14 at the line. A&M-Commerce was called for 26 fouls in the game, including three technical fouls, while Lamar was charged with 10 fouls.
 
Both Chris Pryor and Terry Anderson scored 18 points each in the game. Anderson recorded a double-double with 18 points and 14 rebounds. Lamar was 42.3 percent from the field, 5 for 16 from deep, and 27 for 25 at the line.

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UP NEXT
The Lions head home for their next three games, hosting Nicholls at 3:30 p.m. Saturday, defending Southland champion, A&M-Corpus Christi, at 7 p.m. next Monday, and UIW on January 31 at 7 p.m. Tickets for all home games can be purchased at LionAthletics.com/Tickets.