BEAUMONT, Texas – The Lamar University men's basketball team is back in action Friday when they cross the Texas-Louisiana border headed to Lake Charles, La., to compete in the McNeese MTE tournament. The four-team, three-day tournament will see the Cardinals compete in three games in as many days.
 
The Cardinals will open the tournament Friday with a 2 p.m. contest against Lindenwood followed by a Saturday game against Western Carolina (11 a.m.). LU will wrap things up with a non-conference version of the Battle of the Border Sunday against McNeese (1:30 p.m.).
 
Big Red enters the weekend looking to start a win streak coming off an impressive victory Monday over Huston-Tillotson. The MTE will provide an early challenge for the Cardinals who will be playing games in consecutive days for the first time all season.
 
LU's victory over the Rams saw the Cardinals do a great job of spreading out the offense with six players in double-figures, and no one scoring more than 16 points. The performance marked the first time since the 2019-20 season that the Red and White had at least six players in double digits in a single game.
 
The series history between LU and the other three teams presents an interesting dichotomy. LU has faced Lindenwood and Western Carolina a grand total on one time, while the Cardinals have played McNeese more than any other school in program history. Big Red holds a 57-48 (.543) all-time record against McNeese, but that mark is just 17-34 (.333) in Lake Charles (LU is 1-0 combined against WCU and Lindenwood).
 
All three games of the tournament will take place at the Legacy Center in Lake Charles, with Sunday's game broadcast on Newstalk 560 KLVI.