BEAUMONT, Texas – After a heartbreaking setback in the Southland Conference opener, the Lamar University men's basketball team returns home to the Montagne Center Saturday – a place where they have been unbeatable so far in 2018-19. Big Red hosts Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Saturday in their Southland home opener. The Cardinals enter the contest with a perfect 6-0 record at home.
 
The Cardinals fell back to .500 (7-7) on the season after a disappointing effort at Houston Baptist. The Cardinals had 20 turnovers in the contest, shot 59 percent from the free throw line and trailed by as many as 11 midway through the second half, but despite all that LU found a way to battle back to force overtime. Unfortunately, the Cardinals were outscored 14-8 in the extra period.
 
The loss snapped a three-game win streak and the Red and White will now face a Texas A&M-Corpus Christi team at the opposite end of the spectrum. The Islanders snapped a three-game skid with their Southland-opening win against Central Arkansas. The Islanders posted a 12-point victory over the Bears and shot 45 percent from the field while dominating the glass, 43-29. A&M-Corpus Christi's domination on the glass lead to a 15-0 advantage on second chance points.
 
The Cardinals enter Saturday's contest ranked second in the Southland averaging nearly 82 points per game, while the Islanders are 10^th scoring less than 69 per contest. A&M-Corpus Christi hangs its hat on the defensive end of the floor. The Islanders are one of the best teams nationally surrendering just 66 points to their opponents on the season. Corpus Christi has done a good job all season on the boards and enters the contest averaging nearly six more rebounds per night than their opponents.
 
A&M-Corpus Christi is led by two players averaging in double figures – Kareem South (12.4 ppg) and Myles Smith (10.9 ppg).   
 
The Cardinals' offense is led by senior Josh Nzeakor. The Mesquite native currently ranks fourth in the conference averaging better than 16 points per game and is second in the league pulling down 7.9 rebounds per contest.
 
The Cardinals lead the all-time series, 19-9 (.679), over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, a record which includes a season sweep of the 2017-18 series. Big Red has won two straight in the series, but those wins came on the heels of three-straight losses. LU is 10-6 (.625) all-time against the Islanders in Beaumont but has struggled lately winning just one of the past six meetings.
 
Saturday's game will tip off at 4:30 p.m. from the Montagne Center and will be broadcast on Newstalk 560 KLVI. It will also be televised on ESPN3. In between the men's and women's games, LU will be honoring Susan Conn McCurry and Roger McCurry for their service to the university and the community.