BEAUMONT, Texas – When the Lamar University men's basketball team (5-5) steps on the court Monday evening it will be opening a three-game homestand – its longest to date. The Cardinals have played seven of their past nine games away from Beaumont, including five of them outside of the Lone Star State. The Cardinals have been away from home so much that a joke could even be made that shooting baskets in the Montagne Center is as foreign to the Cardinals as shooting in an opposing gym.
The Cardinals have wrapped up the first third of their season with a .500 record and now look to start the second stretch of 10 games on a positive note. LU enters that second stretch of 10 games looking to right the ship from its recent struggles. After winning four of their first five games to start the year, LU has struggled recently dropping four of their last five games.
Big Red is coming off a disappointing 14-point setback at UT Rio Grande Valley Friday that saw LU and the Vaqueros tied at halftime, only to have UTRGV get hot in the second half knocking down nearly 69 percent of their shots.
The Cardinals are preparing to face a Liberty squad that has had its own share of struggles recently. The Flames have dropped three of their past four games, and head to the Golden Triangle with a 5-6 (.455) overall record. Liberty is coming off an impressive 81-33 victory over Clarks Summit Friday evening in Lynchburg, Va.
While Monday's game opens a three-game homestand for the Cards, it marks the start of a season-long four-game road swing for Liberty.
One bright spot coming out of Friday's setback to the Vaqueros was the continued strong play of junior
Zjori Bosha. The Nome, Texas native, scored a career-high 21 points against the Vaqueros which marked the first time in Bosha's career he has reached double figures in three-straight games.
The Cardinals are still being led by junior
Colton Weisbrod. The Nederland, Texas product is ranked among the league's top 10 in scoring (15.5 ppg) and leads the Southland averaging better than 10 rebounds per contest. Sophomore
Nick Garth provides LU head coach
Tic Price another scoring option coming off the bench averaging better than 11 point per game, and ranks as one of the league's top three-point shooters knocking down nearly 40 percent per game.
Liberty averages nearly 70 points per contest (67.5 ppg), and is outscoring opponents by four points per game. The Flames enter the week with two players averaging 13 points per contest – Ryan Kemrite and Caleb Homesley – but neither played in the victory over Clarks Summit.
With Christmas just around the corner, Santa Claus will be breaking from his busy schedule to make a stop in Beaumont to take pictures with children and support the Cardinals. Santa will be in the Montagne Center beginning Monday at 6 p.m. The Cardinals will tip off against Liberty at 7 p.m. from the Montagne Center. The game can be heard live on Newstalk 560 KLVI.
-LU CARDINALS-
