MEN’S BASKETBALL: Cards hit road while hanging around in sixth place
Published 6:50 pm Tuesday, February 6, 2018
Lamar sports information
BEAUMONT — Winners in two of the past three games, Lamar men’s basketball team now hits the road looking to make it two in a row as they travel to Northwestern State to face the Demons.
The game against Northwestern State will open a two-game road swing before the Cardinals return to the Montagne Center.
The Cardinals are coming off one of the best performances of the season defeating Stephen F. Austin with a 76-54 setback Saturday in the Montagne Center. In addition to stopping a 10-game slide to the Lumberjacks, the Cardinals handed SFA its worst Southland Conference setback since dropping a 62-37 decision at McNeese State in March 2003. It’s the Jacks’ worst loss to a Cardinals’ squad since the early 1960s.
Even more impressive than the Cardinals victory was how they did it. Leading scorer and rebounder, Colton Weisbrod, was limited to three points and five rebounds after getting into early foul trouble. Junior Nick Garth – the team’s third-leading scorer – recorded double figures but was only able to play 11 minutes in the game due to foul trouble.
Just past the midway point of the conference season, the Cardinals (14-10, 6-5 SLC) enter the week in a three-way for sixth, 1.5 games back of SFA. LU is currently tied with Central Arkansas and Abilene Christian. Those three are currently just a half game up on Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and McNeese. The Islanders have fought their way back in the conference chase after winning four straight to pull into a ninth-place tie.
Northwestern State (3-19, 0-11 SLC) enters the week as one of two Southland schools still looking for its first league victory. The Demons have lost 14-straight dating back to a 30-point victory over Louisiana College in December. Northwestern State recorded an impressive five-point victory over UL Monroe early in November.
The Cardinals enter the week surrendering the second fewest points of all Southland teams. Big Red is surrendering fewer than 70 points per game, while the Demons are last in the league averaging 64.4 points per contest.
LU will look for a similar effort on the glass to what it produced against Stephen F. Austin. The Cardinals outgained SFA, 43-25, on the glass, including a 16-7 advantage on the offensive glass. Senior Zjori Bosha and junior Josh Nzeakor finished the night with double-figure rebounds. LU heads to Natchitoches with two of league’s top three rebounders.
The Cardinals are a game over .500 all-time in the series against Northwestern State (27-26/.509). The Cardinals enter the conference showdown having won three-straight in the series, including a season sweep of the 2016-17 season. The last Northwestern State victory in the series came during the 2014-15 season when the Demons recorded a 12-point victory in Natchitoches. The Cardinals have struggled historically in Natchitoches posting a 6-19 (.240) record, but LU recorded a 20-point victory over Northwestern State last season in Prather.
Wednesday’s game is slated to tip off at 6:30 p.m. from Prather Coliseum. It can be heard live on Newstalk 560 KLVI.