BEAUMONT, Texas - The Louisiana College men's basketball team kept it close for a half but were unable to keep pace with the NCAA Division I Lamar Cardinals, falling 114-62 in the final non-conference game of the year for the Wildcats.

LC (4-6) trailed just 44-36 at the half but was outscored 70-26 in the second half.

Leading the charge for Lamar was Mike James, who came off the bench to score 52 points in 28 minutes of work.

James, a 6-foot-1 junior transfer from Easter Arizona, shot 18-for-35 from the field, 11-for-21 from three-point range and 5-for-7 from the free-throw line and also pulled down five rebounds and dished out three assists.

The Wildcats struggled on the boards much of the night against the larger Cardinals and were out-rebounded 61-43 on the night. Lamar was good for 20 offensive rebounds and 41 defensive rebounds while the Wildcats produced 12 offensive rebounds and 31 defensive rebounds.

Junior wing Jarrod Jackson was the Wildcats' top scorer with 13 points with senior post Chukwuma Ekeh adding 10 points and junior post Korey Salmon nine points and 12 rebounds.

In addition to James' amazing performance, the Cardinals also benefitted from the efforts of Kendrick Harris (10 points), Devon Lamb (15 points, 11 rebounds), Brandon Davis (14 points) and Orlando Brazier (six points, 11 rebounds.

This was the first of a three-game road swing for the Wildcats, who will travel to Abilene, Texas, for games against Hardin-Simmons on Thursday night and McMurry on Saturday.