BEAUMONT, Texas – Former Southland Conference foes will square off Saturday in Abilene as Lamar University (1-0) steps on the court to face Abilene Christian (0-1). The one difference is the 2026 matchup will be a non-conference contest instead of battle for seeding in the conference tournament.
 
Now representing the United Athletic Conference, the Wildcats are 0-1 on the season after opening the year with a 94-59 setback at Colorado. ACU is in a similar position as Lamar looking to bounce back from a disappointing 2025-26 season. The Wildcats are looking to build from a 14-19 (.424) season where they finished 5-13 in league play.
 
The Cardinals tipped off the season Saturday with a 62-point victory over Schreiner. Lamar ended the night with one of the best offensive outputs in school history - 124 - which was a top-15 scoring mark all-time. Big Red was also dominant on the glass outrebounding their guests, 64-24.
 
Every Cardinal who entered the game scored and pulled down at least one rebound. LU was led by 22 points from senior Quante Berry while juniors Filip Radakovic (18 points/13 rebounds) and M.J. Wardlow (16 points/11 rebounds) each had double-doubles.
 
Saturday's contest is slated to tip off at 1 p.m. from Moody Coliseum in Abilene. The game will be streamed live on ESPN+.
   
LU vs. Abilene Christian
Five days after tipping off the season at home, the Lamar University Cardinals will travel to Abilene, Texas to take on former Southland Conference foe, Abilene Christian. The Cardinals trail the all-time series to ACU, 14-23 (.378), a record that includes a 5-13 (.278) mark in Abilene. Big Red has lost 12 straight in the series and is looking for its first victory since February 2015 (in Garland). The last time Lamar defeated ACU in Abilene was the 2013-14 season.
 
Century Mark
Lamar University hit the century mark in its season opener scoring 124 points. It was the first time Lamar hit the 100-point plateau since 2024-25 season-opener when LU scored 113 against Paul Quinn College. The game also tied for the 13th-best mark in program history and it was the most points scored since netting 128 during the 2014-15 season. The Cardinals were one of three league schools to hit the century mark in their season opener and scored the most of all Southland schools Monday. It was also the most points for Lamar in a season-opener since scoring 127 in the 1987-88 season opener.
 
Seeing Double-Double
Juniors Filip Radakovic and M.J. Wardlow both recorded their first double-doubles as Cardinals. Radakovic scored 18 points and pulled down 13 rebounds, while Wardlow netted 16 points with 11 boards. LU recorded 14 double-doubles last season. It marks the first time Lamar has had two players record double-doubles in the same game since Nov. 14, 2023, against UTSA.
 
The Windex Award Goes To ...
The Cardinals dominated the glass to the tune of 64 rebounds. LU outrebounded the Mountaineers by 40. Two Cardinals finished the game with double-figure rebounds and every Cardinal who entered the game recorded at least one board.
 
A Berry Good Start
Junior Quante Berry led the Cardinals in scoring during the team's season-opening win. He scored 22 points on 9-of-17 (.529) shooting and 3-of-6 (.500) from three-point range. Berry was named to the Blue Ribbon Preseason All-Southland Conference squad.
 
Spreading the Wealth
Lamar finished Monday's season-opener with six players in double figures. It marks the first time since the 2022-23 season that Lamar has had six players score in double figures in a single game.
 
Rebuilt Roster
In addition to hiring a new staff, Jordan Fee took on the task of rebuilding the Cardinals' roster. The 2026-27 roster consists of 14 new players with no returning letterwinners or squad members. The roster breakdown consists of nine guards and five forwards. The classification breakdown of the 2026-27 team includes five seniors, six juniors, two sophomores and one freshman. The roster is compiled from 10 portal transfer (six NCAA DI transfers), three junior college transfers and a high school signee.