BEAUMONT, Texas – Fresh off their 13-point victory at UL Monroe, the Lamar University Cardinals will look for consecutive wins as they will play two games in 24 hours in the Blaine Taylor Classic hosted by the University of Montana. Big Red will face Montana Sunday at 3 p.m. Central followed by Oakland Monday, Nov. 24 (also at 3 p.m.). Both games will be streamed on ESPN+.
 
The Grizzlies are 4-2 (.667) on the season and enter the weekend having won two of their last three games. Montana just missed pulling off the upset with a five-point setback at Texas A&M. Sunday's contest will be the first time the two schools will have met on the hardwood.
 
Monday's contest against the Oakland Golden Grizzlies would also be a series first. The Golden Grizzlies are 1-5 after consecutive losses, including a six-point setback Friday at Eastern Michigan. Oakland has played arguably the toughest non-conference schedule in the country playing back-to-back-to-back games against top-10 teams and two teams ranked No. 1 nationally. The Golden Grizzlies faced No. 7 Michigan, No. 1 Purdue and No. 1 Houston all within a nine-day time span.
   
 
Spreading the Wealth
Lamar has had one player hit the 20-point plateau in each of the team's first three games, and the best part is it has been a different player in each game. Freshman Jayden Gambrell struck for 27 in the season opener, followed by a 26-point outburst by junior Rob Lee, Jr. at TCU. Senior Andrew Holifield got in the act Monday with 26 in the win over UL Monroe.
 
Building on the Foundation
After a two-win season during his first year, LU head coach Alvin Brooks has improved on each previous season culminating in last year's 20-win campaign. What is even more impressive about the Cardinals current run is that it was done while also losing the leading scorer each season. If the Cardinals were to improve this year, it would mean at least a 21-win season and that would be the program's first back-to-back 20-win campaigns since 1983-84 and 1984-85.
 
Records Are Meant to Be Broken
Last year, the Cardinals recorded their best conference season since 2007-08, in addition to that, LU set a program record for Southland wins in a season (14).
 
The Great Wall of Beaumont
Known for what he does on the offensive end of the floor, senior Andrew Holifield is just as impactful on defense. The Cardinals led the league in blocks last season (5.0 bpg) due in large part to Holifield. The Beaumont native ended the year second in the conference with 54 total blocks (1.6 pg). Holifield is currently averaging 16.7 points, 4.7 rebounds and 2.7 blocks per game as a senior.
 
Building on the Past
Head coach Alvin Brooks has a direct link to Lamar's successful history. One in a long line of LU standout point guards, Brooks guided the Cards to a 47-16 (.746) overall record, two conference titles, the NCAA Sweet 16, a 3-2 NCAA tournament record and graduated as the school's all-time leader in assists.