Box Score BEAUMONT – McNeese State saw a 9-point second half lead slip away late against Lamar and the Cowboys hit just two field goals in the final five minutes as the Cardinals rallied to down McNeese 58-53 here Saturday night in Southland Conference play.
 
Leading 39-30 with 14:32 to play after a Kevin Hardy layup put the Cowboys on a 9-0 run, Lamar slowly chipped away at the lead behind the powerful inside play of Tyran de Lattibeaudiere who scored six if the Cardinals next nine points, all off of dunks, to help spark Lamar to an 11-2 run to tie the game at 41-41 with 10:17 to play.
 
De Lattibeaudiere finished the night with 16 points and 10 rebounds for the double-double, and added three blocked shots.
 
Lamar (14-12, 8-6) took the lead for good with 2:09 to play when de Lattibeaudiere knocked down two free throws to make it 50-48.
 
Marcus Owens, who led all scorers with 18 points, hit the final one of his four three-point shots to put the Cardinals up 53-48 with 1:32 to play and the Cowboys didn't hit another field goal until Matthew Moss sank a 3 with eight seconds left to make it a four point game.
 
The Cowboys (10-15, 4-10) were led in scoring by Desharick Guidry's 13 points and eight rebounds. Guidry had a wide-open look for a game-tying 3 at the top of the key with 35 seconds to play but it bounced off the side of the rim and was rebounded by de Lattibeaudiere.
 
Hardy added 10 points for the Cowboys as the team hit just 35.3 percent from the field (18 of 51) and was just 4 of 18 for 22.2 percent from 3-point range.
 
Lamar connected on 19 of 44 for 43.2 percent and was 6 of 22 for 27.3 percent from long range.   
 
McNeese held a 37-28 advantage on the glass and hauled in 17 offensive rebounds while scoring 19 second chance points.
 
But the big number came in the turnover department where the Cowboys committed 15 miscues with 11 of those in the second half and a lot due to the trapping of Lamar.
 
"We committed three straight turnovers at one point and that was a big factor in the game," said head coach Dave Simmons. "We needed to have a big night out of Desharick to be able to beat them. Most people would be happy with 13 points but I know he's not."
 
Guidry made just 4 of 14 from the field and was 2 of 7 from long range. He had just four points at the half.
 
Hardy ended the night making 4 of 5 but was 2 of 6 from the free throw line as the Cowboys hit just 13 of 20 for 65 percent.
 
"We missed some big free throws and had some big turnovers tonight," said Simmons.
 
McNeese will try to get the ball rolling on Tuesday night at Central Arkansas in the team's final regular season road game of the year. The Cowboys will close out the regular slate with three home games beginning next Saturday against Nicholls. Lamar will make a return trip to Lake Charles on March 2 followed by the March 8 finale against UCA.
 
The Cowboys will open play at the SLC tournament on March 11.