Dec. 17, 2013
Lamar Game Notes 
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Listen NEW YORK - The Lamar Cardinals (1-8) will open another long road swing Wednesday evening when they tipoff against LIU Brooklyn. The Blackbirds are 3-6 on the season, and recently snapped a two-game skid with their three-point victory over NJIT less than a week ago. The Cardinals enter the contest looking to put an end to a small skid of their own. The Cards have dropped five-straight games following their nine-point decision over Savannah State at the Global Sports Challenge in Utah.
Lamar appeared to have a victory well within its grasps this past Saturday in Beaumont. The red and white rallied from a 19-point second-half deficit to tie Tennessee Tech with four minutes remaining. But after battling all the way back, Lamar was unable to get over the hump falling by five points, 79-74.
That has become an unfortunate trend for Lamar over its past few games. The Cardinals past four losses have been by single digits, including three by six points or less.
Despite the setbacks, several bright spots have emerged for the Cardinals. After a slow start to the season offensively, preseason All-Southland selection Amos Wilson has become one of the league's top scoring big men over the course of the past six games. Wilson has scored 20 points in each of the team's past two games, and is averaging 14.2 points over the course of the team's past six games.
In addition to Wilson, junior college transfer Nimrod Hilliard continues to lead the team in scoring, and is currently ranked second in the league in assists. Hilliard has hit double-digits in every game this season, and is currently ranked ninth in the league in scoring (15.2 ppg), and is second in the conference averaging nearly six assists per game.
LIU brings a very dangerous offensive attack into Wednesday night's game. The Blackbirds are led by five players in double figures. Gilbert Parga, a 6-4 junior from Los Angeles, Calif., leads the team averaging better than 12 points per contest.
The Blackbirds have struggled at times on the defensive end of the floor. LIU is surrendering nearly 83 points per game to their opponents this season. Three times during the 2013-14 campaign opponents have scored at least 90, which includes surrendering 102 to Eastern Washington. The Blackbirds have also surrendered at least 80 points in two of their three wins.
The 2013-14 meeting between the two schools will mark the second-straight year Lamar and LIU-Brooklyn have met on the court. Lamar took the first meeting in the series with an 81-80 decision in Beaumont last season. The Blackbirds went on to advance to the 2013 NCAA Championships.
Wednesday's game is slated to tip off at 7 p.m. (6 p.m. Central) from the Steinberg Wellness Center. The Cardinals will continue their five-game road swing Saturday when they travel to Buffalo, N.Y. , to take on Canisius.
-LAMAR-
