BEAUMONT, Texas -- Lamar University closed out its three-game Battle of the Border series Thursday night by rallying to knock off McNeese, 70-63, at the Legacy Center. The rivalry game was more than for just bragging rights. The victory put an end to a three-game slide and moved Big Red a game up on the Cowboys in the standings as the league begins the stretch run for the Southland Conference tournament. The Cardinals' victory also moved LU into a two-way tie for the eighth and final playoff spot, but if the postseason were to start today the Cards would still be on the outside looking in due to the tiebreak with New Orleans. That's the bad news, but the good news is there is still a lot of basketball to be played including one more game against UNO and that will be played in the Montagne Center.
With the victory over McNeese in the rearview, the Cardinals now turn their attention to the next opponent, Northwestern State - the same team it played a week ago in Natchitoches, La. The Demons (15-8/7-3 SLC) have bounced back from a slow start to the conference season. After dropping three of their first five league contests, the Demons have righted the ship and have won five straight to sit in a two-way tie for second place.
The first meeting between the two teams went in favor of the Demons as NSU claimed a 15-point victory on their home floor but the game was close up until that latter stages of the second half. If the Cardinals can put together a similar effort against NSU that they had against McNeese, the Cardinals could climb another two rungs on the conference ladder depending on how things break down throughout the rest of the league Saturday.
Northwestern State brings its' high octane offense to Beaumont which currently leads the Southland in terms of three-pointers per game and is second in the league in three-point field goal percentage. The Demons are led by the league's Nos. 3 (Demarcus Sharp) and 4 (Ja'Monta Black) scorers. Sharp is averaging 16.8 points per game and Black is scoring 16.6 per night.
LU freshman Nate Calmese remains one of the nation's top scorers averaging 17.0 points per game which ties for the league lead, and is the fourth-best mark in the country among all freshman. He has also scored at least 20 points 11 times this season.
LU has a slight edge in the series with Northwestern State, 29-28 (.509) all-time, but the Cardinals have been dominant on their home floor. Big Red owns a 20-6 (.769) all-time record against Northwestern State in Beaumont. Prior to the previous two meetings in the series, the Cardinals had won five straight.
In addition to Calmese's production, freshman Jason Thirdkill, Jr., had the best game of his young LU career to date Thursday night. The Detroit, Mich., native scored a career-high 13 points and pulled down a career-high 11 rebounds to become the fifth different Cardinal to record a double-double this season. It's the ninth time this year LU has had a player record at least 10 points and 10 rebounds in a game.
Saturday's game is slated to tip off at 6 p.m. from the Montagne Center and will be broadcast live on Newstalk 560 KLVI. It will also be streamed live on ESPN+.
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