BEAUMONT, Texas – The Lamar University men's basketball team (1-0) will step back on the court for the first time since its season-opening win when it squares off against Oregon State (2-0) Wednesday in Corvallis, Ore. The Cardinals are preparing for their first road game of the 2016-17 season after an impressive 90-47 victory over Howard Payne in its season opener.
 
The Beavers come into the contest with consecutive wins over Prairie View A&M and UTSA to start the season. Oregon State recorded a comfortable 20-point win over the Panthers, and posted a 72-64 win over UTSA Sunday evening.
 
Sophomore Josh Nzeakor recorded a career-high 20 points to lead a balanced attack for the Cardinals against Howard Payne. Nzeakor was one of three LU players to score in double figures as Big Red had 12 of the 13 players who saw action score at least one bucket Friday evening. The impressive thing about Nzeakor's stat line (20 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 block) is that it came in just 18 minutes of action.
 
Classmate Nick Garth picked up right where he left off last season by coming off the bench to score 14 points on 4-of-7 shooting from beyond the arc. The team's top returning scorer, and the Southland's second leading freshman scorer from last season, Garth became the third player  in program history to lead the team in scoring despite coming off the bench.
 
In addition to the team's balanced scoring attack, the Cardinals were able to go deep into their bench. All 13 players on the LU roster got into the game, and 11 of the 13 played at least 10 minutes.
 
The Cardinals shot better than 50 percent from the field against Howard Payne, and utilized a 34-13 run early in the contest to put their opponent away. Big Red now faces an Oregon State team that has jumped out to a 2-0 record by riding the back of its defense. OSU is holding opponents to less than 35 percent from the field and 28 percent on three-point attempts. Oregon State has also forced its opponents into 27 turnovers.
 
The Beavers are led by three players averaging double-figure, including Tres Tinkle who is averaging 23 points per game on the young season. In addition to his scoring, Tinkle has also recorded a double-double in both contests.
 
The Cardinals will be looking for a repeat performance defensively from their season opener. Big Red forced the Yellow Jackets into 26 turnovers which they cashed in for 37 points.
 
Wednesday's contest will be the first meeting between the two schools since the 1982-83 season, but the inaugural meeting took place two years earlier when the two met in the NCAA Championships. LU stunned the Beavers picking up an 81-77 victory.
 
Wednesday's game is slated to tip off at 6 p.m. (8 p.m. Beaumont time) from Gill Coliseum. It will be televised on the Pac 12 Network, and can be heard live on Newstalk 560 KLVI.
 
-LU CARDINALS-