BEAUMONT, Texas – The recent decisions to cancel the remainder of the 2020 spring athletics schedule has left a void for sports fans across the country. LamarCardinals.com thought it would be a great time to take a look back at some of the great moments, athletes and coaches that have helped Lamar University stand out in the competition arena. Over the course of the coming days and weeks, LamarCardinals.com will be posting stories – in no particular order – reliving some of these great moments.
   
The 1999-2000 Lamar University men's basketball team shocked the Southland Conference and the nation. After posting a 12-15 (.444) overall record and a sub .500 record in Southland play, not much was expected of the Red and White in the league's postseason tournament.
 
LU entered the tournament as the league's No. 7 overall seed and had to travel to Monroe, La., to take SLC runner-up Louisiana-Monroe in the opening round. The Cardinals were not given much of a chance to defeat ULM on the road despite having split the season series. Big Red had to go to three overtimes to defeat Monroe in Beaumont, while ULM posted a 37-point victory over the Cards in Monroe just a month earlier. The Cardinals survived a thriller recording a 66-62 victory to advance to the tournament semifinals against No. 6 seed Texas State (who upset third-seeded UTSA).
 
The Cardinals also split the series against Texas State that year, and just like the series against ULM, the first game had to go to overtime before being decided. The semifinal game went right down to the wire but LU pulled out a three-point victory behind 17 points and 10 rebounds from Landon Rowe. Big Red's semifinal win set up a title game against No. 5 seed Northwestern State who advanced to the championship after a six-point win over regular-season champion Sam Houston State.
 
The championship game saw Big Red jump out to a 14-point first half lead and ride that advantage to victory. The Cardinals got a game-high 21 points from Rowe, who averaged better than 22 points per game in the tournament, to lead LU to a 62-55 victory over the Demons. The win guaranteed LU a spot in the 2000 NCAA Championships.
 
The Cardinals opened the NCAA Championships against Duke in Winston-Salem, N.C. Big Red's run came to an end against the Blue Devils, but not before Big Red made one of the most memorable runs to the tournament in Southland Conference history. It was LU's fifth all-time trip to the NCAA Championships.
 
Please continue to check back with LamarCardinals.com as we continue to update more Great Moments in Cardinals History.