BEAUMONT, Texas – The Lamar University men's basketball team will officially open the 2023-24 season Monday when they take to the court at the newly named Neches Federal Credit Union Arena at the Montagne Center. The Cardinals will tip off the season against Jarvis Christian as the Cardinals will play two of their first three games at home.
 
The Cardinals look to improve upon a nine-win season last year that included five wins in Southland Conference play. Last season's nine-win campaign was a seven-win improvement from the year before.
 
Jarvis Christian enters the 2023-24 season in a similar position to Lamar as they are looking to build upon an 8-17 (.320) record which included a 6-14 (.300) mark in Red River Conference action. The Bulldogs head to Beaumont with a 1-1 record opening the year with a five-point loss at Wiley College before returning home Saturday to knock of UNT-Dallas.
 
Excitement surrounds the 2023-24 season due to the key players that Lamar has back from last year's team. Big Red returns nine letterwinners and three starters. Those returning players make up 56 percent of the team's scoring and nearly 55 percent of its rebounds from the 2022-23 season.
 
Among the returning letterwinners are junior Terry Anderson and senior Adam Hamilton. Both were expected to be key players last season until injures slowed their progress. Hamilton played in only nine games but managed to score in double figures and serve as one of the team's leading rebounders before his season was shutdown, while Anderson returned to play in 24 games averaging 7.3 points and 4.4 rebounds but he was never 100 percent.
 
Monday's contest will be just the fourth all-time meeting between the two schools with all three previous meetings falling in the win category for the Red and White. The Cardinals have hit the 100-point plateau twice against Jarvis, and all three wins have been by at least 24 points. Monday is the first meeting since the 2017-18 season in a series that originated in 2004.
 
The Cardinals have been very tough in season openers throughout the program history posting a 52-20 (.722) all-time mark, which includes wins in seven of their previous eight openers. The lone setback during that stretch was a 2020-21 loss to Houston (when current Lamar head coach Alvin Brooks was still an assistant at UH). Monday's game marks the seventh time since the 2015-16 season that LU has opened a new year at home. The Cardinals are 39-3 (.929) in season openers at home.  
 
Monday's game will tip off at 7 p.m. from Neches Arena. It will be broadcast live on Newstalk 560 KLVI and streamed live on ESPN+.