Freshman guard Kanntrell Burney scored 19 points and led a 3-point shooting assault as Lamar State College Port Arthur opened the New Year with a 79-67 road win over Trinity Valley Community College in Athens, Texas Friday night.

In addition to Burney's big night, Jamyus Jones scored 17 points, Devaughn Thomas added 16 points and J'Son Brooks had a double-double with 10 points and 13 rebounds as the Seahawks picked up their first win in Region 14 competition.

Five different Lamar State players combined to hit 12 3-pointers – four by Burney, three by Jones – as the Seahawks improved to 7-8 overall, 1-3 in region while TVCC's Cardinals fell to 9-5, 3-1.

"It wasn't the prettiest win for us, but I'll take a win any time you can get one in conference," Coach Lance Madison said. "The kids played well. It was a great win for us."

Lamar State broke from a 38-all tie with 4:25 left in the first half with a 12-0 run powered by Thomas and led 50-41 at halftime. The Cards got as close as five points, at 70-65, with 3:15 left in the game but the Seahawks put together a 9-0 blitz to finish off the victory.

Anderson Mirambeaux, TVCC's 6-7, 280-pound center, led all scorers with 23 points.

The Seahawks began a stretch of four conference games in a nine-day stretch Friday. They host 12-2 Kilgore College Monday at 4 p.m. in the Carl Parker Center. The unusual weekday start time is because the school is still out for holiday break.