BEAUMONT, Texas – The 2019-20 regular season is winding down – just two games left before the Southland Conference Championships in Katy – but Lamar University still has some work to do. Despite not yet having locked down a spot in the tournament, the Cardinals still have a shot at a top four seed and a first-round bye. For any of that to happen the Cardinals have a tough task ahead of them.
 
Big Red travels to Nacogdoches, Texas Saturday to take on league-leading Stephen F. Austin. Winners of 12 straight, the Lumberjacks locked up a share of the Southland Conference title Wednesday with their blowout victory over Northwestern State. The Cardinals magic number is down to one, so a victory against the Lumberjacks would guarantee LU a spot in the tournament. The Cardinals can still qualify for the tournament without the benefit of a win. If UIW defeats Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Saturday in Corpus Christi, that would also put LU in the conference's postseason tournament.
 
SFA has sat at the top of the Southland standings since the start of league play, suffering only one league loss (at home to A&M-Corpus Christi) back in January. The Lumberjacks enter the weekend showdown riding a 12-game win streak.
 
Following the Cardinals victory over UIW Wednesday in Beaumont, LU now heads to Nacogdoches having won four straight and six of the previous eight games. Their recent run has taken them from being on the outside looking in, in regard to postseason play, to alone in fifth place on the verge of locking up a spot, and still a shot at climbing one more spot on the ladder. The Cards are currently a half game up on Central Arkansas and Northwestern State, and a game up on McNeese in the standings. Big Red trails Sam Houston State in the standings by just a game.
 
The Lumberjacks lead the Southland in scoring averaging nearly 81 points per game (80.7 ppg) and are led by the Southland's fourth leading scorer in Kevon Harris (17.5 ppg). The Cardinals are averaging better than 72 points per game but have seen that number climb up near 80 per game in the recent four-game streak. The Cardinals are led by senior T.J. Atwood who ranks just behind Harris averaging 16.5 per contest.
 
The Cardinals are 29-36 (.446) all-time against Stephen F. Austin, a record that includes an eight-point setback to the Lumberjacks earlier this season in Beaumont. The series is one that had been dominated by SFA until two years ago when LU head coach Tic Price flipped the script on SFA. Prior to that SFA had won 10 consecutive games, but the Cardinals have now taken four of the past five meetings including consecutive wins in Nacogdoches and taking the two previous season series. The Cardinals are 8-23 (.258) all-time against SFA in Nacogdoches.
 
Saturday's game will tip off at 4:30 p.m. Saturday from the William R. Johnson Coliseum. It will be broadcast live on Newstalk 560 KLVI and streamed live on ESPN3.