Lamar Bests Saints in Nonconference Matchup

BEAUMONT, TEXAS (Dec. 5, 2022) – The Our Lady of the Lake University (OLLU) men's basketball team fell to NCAA D1 Lamar University (LU) 91-56 on Monday night. The Saints drop to 4-4 overall while the Cardinals jump to 4-5.

Head Coach Chris Dial commented, "I don't have a lot of positives to report besides Daniel and Ruben's efforts. We got outworked and didn't value the ball. It was a really disappointing effort, especially in the second half. We will get back to work tomorrow to prepare for our two conference games this week."

History

The Saints have played three exhibitions against Lamar University. This was the first official matchup between the two programs.

Basics

The Saints matched the Cardinals energy in the first half. There were multiple lead changes and the Saints grabbed eight offensive rebounds. The Saints only trailed by eight points at the break. The main factor that led to the Cardinals advantage was 10 turnovers by OLLU.

Lamar's offense picked up in the second half. They had eight more fast break points than the Saints and scored 21 points off turnovers. Daniel Helterhoff and Ruben Monzon both finished with double-digit points. Monzon was on the court for 27 minutes and shot 50 percent from the field. The Cardinals ran away with the game and won 91-56.

Offensive/defensive standouts

Helterhoff led the Saints with 17 points. He also had a team-high six rebounds. Rob Gill led the team with four assists.

Nate Calmese led Lamar with 31 points. Cody Pennebaker grabbed a team-high eight rebounds. Chris Pryor had six assists.

Inside the box

OLLU combined for 21-of-53 shooting for 39.6 percent, 7-of-21 from three-point range for 33.3 percent and 7-of-13 from the free-throw line for 53.8 percent. Lamar shot 33-of-76 for 43.4 percent, 13-of-34 three pointers for 38.2 percent and 12-of-16 from the free-throw line for 75 percent.

The Saints grabbed 36 rebounds while Lamar collected 41. OLLU forced 11 turnovers and committed 26.

Up next

The Saints resume Red River Athletic Conference (RRAC) play at Texas College on Dec. 8 at 7:30 p.m.