BEAUMONT, Texas – A shorthanded Lamar University Cardinals squad was up to the task bouncing back from their heartbreaking setback at Houston Christian, to dispense of Texas A&M-Commerce Monday evening, 76-65. The Cardinals will now look to make it consecutive wins as they prepare to face Southeastern Louisiana in a key conference match up.
 
The Cardinals (10-9/4-2 SLC) enter the weekend in a three-way tie for second place (Nicholls and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi). Big Red is in a strong position just two games back of league-leading McNeese with two-thirds of the season still remaining – including a rematch with McNeese.
 
As big as Saturday is for LU, it can be argued that it is of greater importance for Southeastern Louisiana. The Lions are tied with Lamar's opponent Monday for seventh in the conference standings. With that being said, the Lions enter tonight fighting to improve their standing within the conference's postseason tournament while also trying to create a gap in the standings between them and ninth place.
 
The Lions had been in a four-game slump but that all changed seemingly in one night. Southeastern hosted then second place Northwestern State and led by double-figures in the second half before recording their second conference victory of the season.
 
Lamar brings the league's top offense (80.9 ppg) into the contest while Southeastern Louisiana is 10^th in the Southland in scoring offense (67.0 ppg), but the Lions hang their hat on the defensive end of the floor. SLU is currently third in the league in scoring defense allowing just 71.0 points per game.
 
It's the same look for Lamar, four players averaging in double-figures, with two more averaging better than eight per game. The Cards continue to lead the league in scoring despite having only one player averaging at least 12 points per game (Chris Pryor – 12.1 ppg). A unique luxury for head coach Alvin Brooks is his leading scorer (for the season) seems to change after every game, meaning opponents can't just focus on one player.
 
Saturday's game against SLU is slated for a 6 p.m. tip off from the Neches Federal Credit Union Arena at the Montagne Center. It will be broadcast live on Newstalk 560 and streamed live on ESPN+.