BEAUMONT, Texas – Former Southland rivals square off Tuesday night when the Lamar University Cardinals (2-1) host UTSA. The Cardinals return to the friendly confines of the Montagne Center after a seven-day, two-game road trip that saw LU record a split with Oregon State and Fresno State. The Cardinals pulled the stunner against the Beavers, 63-60, in Corvallis, but watched as Fresno turned a close game into a 19-point victory late Saturday afternoon.
 
"I was really pleased with our effort defensively at Oregon State," said Price. "Our work ethic on defense allowed us to overcome some struggles on offense. Against Fresno, I think all the traveling caught up with us. We looked sluggish out of the gate. We weren't able to finish shots and left a lot short."
 
The Cardinals will now turn their focus to a UTSA squad that is 1-3 (.250) on the season. The Roadrunners opened the year with three consecutive losses but head to the Golden Triangle coming off a 10-point victory over a very talented Prairie View A&M squad. UTSA has struggled on the road during the early stages of the new season with all three setbacks coming away from the Convocation Center.
 
The two teams already have a couple common opponents, with mixed results, despite being just a few games into the 2016-17 campaign. The Cardinals defeated OSU by three points, but suffered a 19-point setback to Fresno State. UTSA opened the year with a three-point setback against the Bulldogs before dropping a 72-64 decision at Oregon State.
 
Big Red comes into the midweek contest looking to become the first LU squad to start a season 3-1 since the 2008-09 team opened the year 5-0. The Cardinals current West Coast split had them squaring off against two teams that advanced to the NCAA Championships a season ago. Despite a very tough opening schedule, LU enters its showdown with UTSA as one of the league's better defensive teams. The Cardinals have the league's second-best scoring defense surrendering 63.3 points per game. The only team ranked ahead of the Cardinals – Abilene Christian – has played just one Division I game (vs. New Hampshire) this season. The Cards are also second-best team in the league against the three-pointer allowing less than 29 percent on the year.
 
The Roadrunners average less than 70 points per game, and have connected on just 19-of-76 (.250) three-point attempts, but have done a good job on the glass. UTSA is outrebounding opponents by more than seven rebounds per contest, while the Cardinals have been outrebounded by five per game.
 
One player who doesn't seem to have a problem on the glass is junior college transfer Colton Weisbrod. A former first-team NJCAA All-American, Weisbrod has scored in double-figures in each of the first three games and posted a double-double with 16 points and 12 rebounds. He currently leads the team averaging nearly 14 points and better than eight rebounds per game.
 
The Cardinals lead the all-time series against UTSA, 18-14 (.563), which includes an 8-5 (.615) mark in Beaumont. Tuesday's game will be the first time the two teams have met since the 2011-12 season when they split the season series. LU won the last meeting between the two schools, 80-66, but the Roadrunners have won four of the past six. The majority of the meetings came when UTSA was still a member of the Southland Conference.
 
Tuesday's game will tip off at 7 p.m. from the Montagne Center, and will be the team's final home game until Dec. 10^th. The game can also be seen live on ESPN3 and heard on Newstalk 560 KLVI.
 
-LU CARDINALS-