BEAUMONT, Texas – Lamar University will be in Lafayette, La., Saturday to face one of its oldest rivals in UL Lafayette (at one time known as University of Southwestern Louisiana), the two schools have met 83 times in series history. The series happens to be the second-longest for the Red and White as LU has played only McNeese more than UL Lafayette. With that being said, Saturday's contest will be the first meeting between the two schools since the 2012-13 season.
 
While the Cardinals look to continue the momentum that has seen them win three straight – including a 2-0 road start to Southland Conference play – UL Lafayette enters the weekend looking to right the ship. The Ragin' Cajuns are 2-8 (.200) on the season but might be coming out of their slump. ULL posted a 68-61 victory over Southeastern Louisiana Wednesday in Lafayette.
 
ULL has won three of the last four games in the series, with the lone Lamar win during that stretch coming on Dec. 3, 2011. Overall, Lamar trails in the series by one game, 41-42 (.494) and has struggled on the road in the series winning fewer than 25 percent of the games in Lafayette.
 
With a win, the Cardinals will equal their longest win streak from all of last season.
 
Saturday's game is slated to tip off at noon from the Cajundome. It will be streamed live on ESPN+.
 
Bucking the Trend
Lamar's last two wins - at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and at UT Rio Grande Valley - came in cities where the Cardinals have struggled historically. Prior to Lamar's two most recent wins, LU was 23-31 (.426) combined in Corpus Christi and Edinburg. Thursday's win against the Islanders ended a five-game slide and was the team's first since 2018-19, while Saturday's victory ended a six-game slide and marked the program's first win in Edinburg since 2010-11.
 
That's Pretty Fly
Lamar University is off to a 2-0 start in league games after playing two early season Southland Conference games. It marks the second-straight season the Cardinals have opened league play with a 2-0 record, but it's the first time since the 1998-99 season that LU has opened 2-0 in league play with both games being on the road.
 
LU in December
Lamar is 302-228 (.571) all-time in the month of December and has posted better than .500 record in the month 43 times. The Cardinals have notched a perfect record in the month four times. The Cardinals' December record is 201-47 (.810) during home games in the year's final month.
 
Downeaster Alexis
Junior guard Alexis Marmolejos has gotten his first season with the Red and White off to a great start. A native of Santiago, D.R., Marmolejos leads the team, and is second in the Southland, in scoring averaging 16.4 points per game. He is the reigning SLC Player of the Week after averaging 17.5 points, 2.5 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.5 steals per game in Lamar's two road wins to open conference play. 
 
Closing With a Flourish
Lamar trailed Texas A&M-Corpus Christi by 11 points with 12:01 remaining in the contest before the Cardinals rattled off a 24-9 run to close out the game. LU took its first lead on an Andrew Holifield dunk at the 5:08 mark of the game. Lamar shot 52 percent from the field in the final 20 minutes while holding the Islanders to an 8-of-27 (.296) effort to complete the come from behind victory.
 
Denying the 3
Entering half time at UT Rio Grande Valley, the Cardinals had surrendered just one three-point field goal to the Vaqueros. To that point, the Cardinals had held their last two opponents to a 1-for-27 (.037) effort from three-point range in the previous 60 minutes. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and UTRGV combined to shoot 5-of-42 (.119) from long range against LU.
 
Action Jackson
Senior Ja'Sean Jackson is off to the best start of his career. He is currently second on the team, and tied for 13th in the league, averaging 13.2 points per game. The San Antonio native is also third in the conference in assists (4.4 apg) and tied for fourth in steals (2.0 spg).