Lamar sports information

BEAUMONT — The Lamar Cardinals are off to their best start since the 2008-09 season and will place their 5-1 (.833) record on the line tonight when they travel to Conway, South Carolina, to take on Coastal Carolina. The Cardinals enter the weekend contest having won consecutive games and are coming off an impressive 14-point victory at UTEP.

The Cardinals hit their first four shot attempts against UTEP to race out to a 13-0 lead and never looked back. LU led by as many as 24 points in the contest. The Cardinals finished the night with four players in double figures and had two players post double-doubles.

LU also recorded one of its best defensive performances in recent history. The Cardinals held UTEP to 52 points in the Don Haskins Center. It was the fewest points surrendered by the Cardinals to a non-conference NCAA Division I program since holding Texas-Pan American (now UT Rio Grande Valley) to 49 points in the 2011-12 season.

The Cardinals will be taking on a very tough Coastal Carolina (4-3) squad that has won two of its past three games, but is coming off a tough six-point loss to Wofford. Big Red needs to only look back to the second game of the season to know how talented Coastal is. The Chanticleers traveled to Beaumont on Nov. 14 and jumped out to a double-digit lead before the Cardinals rallied late for a come-from-behind six-point victory. The Cardinals were able to rally behind senior James Harrison’s season-high 17 points, including a perfect 5-of-5 effort from three-point range.

The Cardinals were 20-of-53 (.377) from the field in the first meeting led by three players in double figures. In addition to Harrison, senior Zjori Bosha and junior Josh Nzeakor each added 12 points. Big Red also got the job done at the free throw line converting 75 percent of its attempts. Coastal Carolina shot nearly 43 percent from the field in the first meeting after knocking down 52 percent of its attempts in the opening half. The Chanticleers were led by 17 points from Jaylen Shaw.

The Cardinals are averaging nearly 82 points per game on the season and outscoring opponents by 15 points. LU enters Saturday as the Southland’s only team with five players averaging in double figures.

The Cardinals are also getting the job done on the glass. Big Red is averaging more than 40 rebounds per game and outrebounding opponents by six boards per night.

The Chanticleers average just under 79 points per game (78.9 ppg) while holding opponents to fewer than 70 points. Coastal is led by Zac Cuthbertson’s 19.3 points per game, but opposing defenses can’t afford to focus on just one player. Senior Jaylen Shaw is averaging nearly 16 points per game for the Chanticleers.

The Chanticleers have imposed their will on the glass. CCU is outrebounding opponents by nearly 21 boards per game. Four players are pulling down better than five rebounds per game led by Cuthbertson’s 7.8 pg.