BEAUMONT, Texas -- With the end of the regular season quickly approaching, teams are trying to take advantage for the final stretch run to position themselves for the Southland Conference tournament. Lamar University has the slight advantage of playing two of its final three games at home beginning Thursday. Lamar (9-19/5-10 SLC) is one of four teams fighting for one of the two final spots in the tournament. The Cardinals have split their last six decisions and currently sit just a game back, along with three other teams, of Houston Christian in the standings.
Southeastern Louisiana (15-13/9-6 SLC) occupied the top spot in the standings but enters the week tied for sixth after hitting a rough stretch recently. The Lions have dropped four of the last five games, and ended that streak Saturday with a two-point overtime win at Texas A&M-Commerce. The Lions head to Beaumont currently tied for third in the league standings.
The series between Southeastern Louisiana and LU dates back to the 1958-59 season. The Cardinals lead the all-time series, 27-23-1 (.539), a mark which includes an overtime setback at Southeastern Louisiana earlier this season. Prior to that overtime loss, the Cardinals had won consecutive games in the series. Big Red is 17-9 (.654) all-time against SLU in Beaumont.
The Cardinals bring two of the league's more exciting freshmen into the contest in Nate Calmese and Yuto Yamanouchi. Calmese has been in the hunt for the league's scoring title all season and is currently second in the conference in scoring (17.6 ppg), a mark which currently ranks as the nation's No. 2 leading freshman scorer. While Calmese is making headlines for his offense, Yamanouchi Williams is making waves with his work on the glass. One of the top double-double threats in the league, Yamanouchi currently ranks fourth in the Southland pulling down 7.3 rebounds per game.
Thursday's game will tip off at approximately 7:30 p.m. (or 30 minutes following the end of the women's contest) from the Montagne Center. It will be broadcast live on Newstalk 560 and streamed live on ESPN+.
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