BEAUMONT, Texas – Third-year Lamar University head basketball coach
Tic Price is prepping his youthful basketball team to open a new season Friday against Howard Payne, in what will be the second-earliest start to a season in program history. The Cardinals are looking to bounce back from an 11-19 (.367) season that saw them post a 3-15 (.167) mark in Southland Conference play.
The Cards opening-night opponent – Howard Payne – is a team LU is familiar with because the Yellow Jackets made the trip to Beaumont last season. LU's 23-point decision over the Yellow Jackets was one of many for a squad that struggled on the road last season. HPU ended last year with a 3-12 (.200) mark away from home, during a season that saw them go 10-15 overall (.400) and finish fifth in the American Southwest Conference West Division standings with a 6-9 (.400) record, just missing out on postseason play.
The Yellow Jackets return their top-two scorers from a year ago – Khyce Randall and Rickey Guillory. Those names should sound familiar to Beaumont residents as both starred at West Brook High School. Randall scored 15 points per game last season, while Guillory averaged better than 13 per game.
The Cardinals were one of the youngest teams in the nation last year. Big Red ranked among the nation's top 25 in terms of minutes played by freshmen. Only 15 other teams in the country played more freshmen than LU. Of the schools listed among the youngest, the Cardinals finished tied for 21
st in terms of overall wins.
The Cardinals return the majority of their production from the 2015-16 campaign. The Red and White has 66 percent of its scoring and 63 percent of its rebounding back, including team leading scorer
Nick Garth. A sophomore from Houston, Garth ranked among the league leaders averaging 13.4 points per game – second-best average among Southland freshman last season. He became just the third player in program history, and only the second freshman, to lead the team in scoring despite coming off the bench (Joey Ray and Keith Veney).
History is on the Cardinals side to open the season. LU is 46-19 (.708) all-time in season openers, and the majority of that success has come when Big Red opens the season at home. The Cardinals are a near perfect 34-3 (.919) when opening the season in Beaumont. That stat is made more impressive by the fact that LU has posted a 303-153 (.664) mark in the Montagne Center.
The Cardinals return seven letterwinners from last season. Those letterwinners include Garth,
Dorian Chatman (forward),
Lincoln Davis (guard),
Josh Nzeakor (forward),
Zjori Bosha (guard) and
Terrance Hubby (forward). The list of newcomers includes two freshmen and four junior college transfers. The freshmen are
Cameron McGee (guard) and
Tyrin Atwood (guard/forward), while the transfers are
Torey Noel (guard),
Joey Frenchwood (guard),
Christian Albright (post) and
Colton Weisbrod (forward).
Friday's game is slated to tip off at 7 p.m. at the Montagne Center. The game can be heard live on
Newstalk 560 KLVI. Fans attending Friday's game should make plans to arrive earlier than normal to assure a quality parking spot due to the fact that LU will be hosting a high school football playoff game as well.
-LU CARDINALS-
