BEAUMONT, Texas – Rivalry week has set in for Lamar University men's basketball as the Cardinals prepare for showdowns with McNeese State and Stephen F. Austin this week. First on tap for LU will be a trip down I-10 to face McNeese State. Saturday's game holds even more importance than just the usual battle for bragging rights as both teams are trying to secure a spot in the 2016 Southland Conference Championship tournament.
 
McNeese State enters the week 6-17 overall, and tied for the seventh in the conference standings, while the Cardinals (10-15/2-11 SLC) are two games back of the Cowboys. Three teams currently ahead of LU are ineligible for the postseason tournament – Incarnate Word, Abilene Christian and Central Arkansas.
 
Time is of the essence for LU who has five games remaining to snatch one of the remaining playoff spots, but it is not going to be easy. Of the Cards five remaining games, three are against team in the top five of the standings, including one against first-place SFA.
 
The Cowboys have dropped two straight and six of their last seven and are coming off a heartbreaking overtime loss against Southeastern Louisiana Monday night. It is a similar story for the Cardinals who are looking to put an end to an eight-game skid. The Cardinals have been locked into an unfortunate trend of heartbreaking losses. LU has lost its last four games by a total four points, and is coming off a one-point setback at Houston Baptist – a game played without the services of leading scoring Nick Garth.
 
Despite not having Garth in the lineup Monday, the Cardinals received scoring from other sources. Big Red had four players in double figures, led by sophomore Kevin Booze who came off the bench to score a team-high 17 points and dish out a career-high 11 assists to record his first career double-double.
 
An area that has plagued the Cardinals all season has been their inability to get out of the gate quickly. LU has struggled with slow starts, but the second half is a completely different story. The Cards have outscored their opponents in the second half 15 times this season. Among the 10 games where LU didn't outscore its opponent in the final 20 minutes, the point differential was less than 10 points.
 
LU enters the weekend showdown as one of the nation's youngest teams. Only 15 other NCAA Division I programs have more freshmen than the Cardinals, and LU ranks among the top 25 nationally in terms of minutes played by freshmen. Among the 21 schools ranked ahead of the Cardinals only 10 have more wins on the season than Big Red. The LU freshmen average 67.2 minutes played per game, 31.2 points scored and 13.4 rebounds per game.
 
The Cardinals hope to have the return of Garth for Saturday, but he will be coming off limited practice. The league's second-leading freshman scorer, Garth enters the rivalry showdown ranked among the league's top 10 in scoring and three-point field goals.
 
The Cowboys are led by junior Jamaya Burr's 14.8 points per game. Similar to LU, Burr is the only Cowboy ranked among the league's top 25 in scoring.
 
McNeese State enters the game ranked 12^th averaging just under 70 points per game. The Cowboys are one of only two Southland teams averaging less than 70 points per game on the season. LU is currently fifth in the league averaging 76 points per game. Defensively, Big Red ranks eighth in the scoring defense (75.5 ppg), while McNeese State is 11^th in the league surrendering 78.8 points per game.
 
The Cardinals should have a significant advantage on the glass ranked first in the Southland averaging nearly 41 rebounds per contest.
 
Saturday's game is scheduled for a 3 p.m. tip off from Burton Coliseum in Lake Charles, La., but will begin approximately 30 minutes following the conclusion of the women's game between LU and McNeese State. The game can be heard live on Newstalk 560 KLVI.
 
The Cardinals will be back in action Monday evening when they return home to host league-leading Stephen F. Austin. The Lumberjacks bring a 19-5 (.792) overall record into the week, and remain the league's only unbeaten team at 12-0. SFA has not lost since their non-conference finale at UAB in December.
 
-LU CARDINALS-