SportsLine.com Report
March 17, 2000

Round 1: Cardinals close briefly ... then blasted by Duke

Lamar's first tournament entry in 17 years was a promising one for much of the first half, but the 32-point underdogs eventually were driven into a funk by top-seeded Duke and lost 82-55 in the East Regional in Winston-Salem, N.C.

The Cardinals made 11 of 21 3-point, shots but fell further behind in the second half, shooting just 28 percent.

"We came into the game in complete awe of Duke and then realized early in the game they're just players," Lamar coach Mike Deane said. "Now, naturally we're all rooting for Duke to win the whole thing so we can tell everybody if we only got by Duke we could have won it ourselves."

The Cardinals had a six-minute scoring drought in the first half, but still stayed within two points with six minutes to go in the first half.

"I'm just glad we came out and weren't intimidated," said Lamar's Landon Rowe. "We're happy now because we played hard and we left it out there on the court."

How They Got There

Lamar was awarded the Southland Conference's automatic bid after beating Northwestern State in the conference tournament final on Saturday.

The Cardinals' victory was the capper on a bizarre week of postseason basketball in the conference. The Cardinals were one of three teams to pull first-round upsets in the tournament, where the top seeds play host to first-round games. Still, Lamar, coming from the No. 7 seed, had to be considered an underdog throughout the event.

Instead, they jumped out to a big lead on No. 5 Northwestern State in the title game and held off the Demons late to earn their fifth NCAA Tournament bid and first since 1983.

Starting Lineup

• PG Thaydeus Holden (6-2, 180, Fr.): Holden is a true freshman who has grown up over the course of the season. He averages 7.5 points, but still has some immature tendencies. He's going to struggle occasionally, but he's also going to be very good one day.
• SG Kenyon Spears (6-3, 190, Jr.): Spears was an All-SLC honorable mention pick this season, averaging 10.1 points while starting every game. He has been slowed down the stretch by a sprained ankle, but can light it up from outside the 3-point arc on any given night.
• C Marlone Jackson (6-8, 225, Sr.): Jackson averaged 6.6 points and 5.3 rebounds per game. He's not spectacular, but he is a solid low post player and is the Cardinals only true shot-blocking presence.
• SF Lewis Arline (6-6, 215, Fr.): Arline is also a true freshman and was high school teammates with Holden. He averaged eight points and 6.3 rebounds. He's the Cardinals' most athletic starter, with good leaping ability and a solid all-around game.
• PF Landon Rowe (6-8, 225, Sr.): Rowe was a second-team All-SLC selection after averaging 14.5 points and 6.8 rebounds. He has the size and strength to back down smaller players, and the quickness and shooting ability to take bigger players out on the perimeter. Rowe is the main cog in the Cardinals' offense. If he's stopped, Lamar is in serious trouble.

Keys to Success

Two words: Landon Rowe.

The 6-8 forward is the focal point of this team. If he has a huge game, the rest of his teammates feed off of it and can make a run at anybody. Just ask Oklahoma, which had to sink free throws in the closing seconds to hold of Lamar in a 67-63 game in Norman on Jan. 3.

The other key is how the players respond to coach Mike Deane, a fiery leader. The Cardinals can be up by 10 and if they give up a steal that leads to an easy lay-up, he'll call a timeout to vent his frustration. Sometimes his team responds; other times they become afraid to play.

If they relax, get Rowe the ball and stay positive when Deane gets on their case ... anything could happen in the tournament.

The Coach

Mike Deane is in his first year at Lamar after a five-year stay at Marquette. Deane led the Warriors to four consecutive 20-win seasons from 1994-1998 and the Conference USA championship in 1997.

Prior to that, Deane led Siena College to the NIT in 1988 and the NCAA Tournament in 1989, where the Saints knocked off third-seeded Stanford in the first round.

Lamar is the third school Deane has taken to the NCAA Tournament.

The bench

Senior point guard Malcolm McCreight (5-8, 160) is technically the backup, but Deane has no problem putting the veteran in the game if Holden is struggling. Bobby Manheimer doesn't get a lot of time on the floor, but if the Cardinals need free throws, he shoots 88.5 percent from the line.

Offense

The Cardinals' offense is motion based. The goal is to get the ball to Rowe and let him create or kick it out when the defense collapses on him.

Defense

The Cardinals rarely go full court with their press, but play solid half-court man-to-man and occasionally run a pesky 2-3 zone.