BEAUMONT, Texas – One of the toughest moments in sports is coming up short in a contest and being forced to walk away feeling like you let a win slip through your grasp. That is how the Lamar University men's basketball team (9-6/1-1 Southland) felt following Thursday's four-point overtime setback to New Orleans.
 
The Cardinals shot just 38 percent from the field, less than 25 percent from three-point range and missed 11 free throws. This performance coming on the heels of a stretch that saw LU shooting around 50 percent for the game, with several halves of better than 60 percent from the field. It was almost taken for granted that LU was knocking down double-digit three-pointers during that stretch, but all of that came to a halt against UNO.
 
"You have to give New Orleans credit," said LU head coach Tic Price following the game. "That is a veteran team that played hard and they made the plays when they had to have them. We were not able to take advantage when we had our opportunities."
 
Adding to the Cardinals agony of Thursday's defeat is the fact that they held UNO without a field goal in the overtime and did so without starters Colton Weisbrod and Joey Frenchwood who fouled out. Although it is tough to get over a heartbreaking loss – or any loss for that matter – that is the position that Big Red finds itself in today.
 
Fortunately for the Red and White, the Cardinals don't have to wait long to get a crack at starting a new win streak. LU will host Southeastern Louisiana Saturday afternoon in the Montagne Center.
 
The Lions (9-7/2-1 Southland) enter Saturday in a four-way tie for third in the league standings, just a game up on LU in the win column. SLU heads to the Golden Triangle facing some disappointment of its own. The Lions were undefeated heading into their contest Thursday at Houston Baptist before dropping a seven-point decision to the Huskies.
 
The Cardinals currently lead the league in scoring offense averaging nearly 80 points (79.9 ppg) per game, and ranked fourth in the league surrendering 71 per contest. Southeastern Louisiana hangs its hat on the defensive end of the floor. The Lions are averaging less than 73 points per game, but are holding opponents to fewer than 69. Both schools are shooting better than 45 percent from the field and 36 percent from beyond the arc.
 
The Lions have three players averaging better than 12 points per contest led by Marlain Veal's 14.3 points per game. Junior Colton Weisbrod leads the Cards in scoring (14.4 ppg) and rebounds (9.2 rpg), while sophomore Nick Garth is averaging 12 per game. Sophomore Josh Nzeakor has seen his production rise over the course of the past five games. Nzeakor has scored in double-figures during that stretch and is averaging nearly nine points per contest on the season.
 
The Cardinals step on the court Saturday not only to looking to start a new win streak, but to reverse the recent trend in the series. Big Red leads the all-time series, 24-21, but the Lions have had the upper hand over the course of the past four years. LU has dropped five of the past six outings in the series with the lone victory during that stretch being a seven-point decision during the 2014-15 season. The Cardinals are 15-8 (.652) all-time against the Lions in Beaumont.
 
Saturday's game tips off at 4:30 p.m. (or 30 minutes following the conclusion of the women's contest) from the Montagne Center. The game can be heard live on Newstalk 560, or seen on ESPN3.
 
-LU CARDINALS-