BEAUMONT, Texas – With just six games remaining on the 2025-26 regular-season schedule, teams have officially hit the stretch run. For Lamar University, that means even more as the Red and White are fighting to secure a spot in next month's Southland Conference Championship tournament.
 
The Cardinals (12-13/7-9 SLC) are still standing in a strong position to nab one of the eight playoff spots, but after dropping consecutive games and five of their last seven, that position is on a bit more shaky ground than it was just three short weeks ago. Even with the team's recent struggles, Lamar has managed to remain in seventh place in the standings.
 
Due to the overall competitiveness of the entire league, Lamar still sits just 2.0 games back of a three-way tie for fourth in the conference standings and the all-important first-round bye in the conference tournament. In addition to that, the Cardinals still have games remaining against four teams currently ahead of them. If Lamar can get hot in the final three weeks of the season, it should be able to climb rapidly in the standings. Lamar also sits 2.0 games up on four teams battling it out for the eighth and final spot.
 
Saturday's opponent – Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (13-12/9-7 SLC) – is one of the teams currently tied for fourth in the standings but has been battling its own demons recently. The Islanders have split their previous 10 games including a stretch of eight straight where they have rotated wins and losses.
 
The Cardinals hold the advantage in the all-time series with a 26-16 (.619) record and Lamar has found a fair amount of success on the road against A&M-Corpus Christi (11-8/.579). Lamar put an end to a three-game slide against Corpus Christi by sweeping the season series last year but the Islanders got the upper hand on LU with an eight-point decision in Beaumont back in December.
 
Saturday's game will tip off at 3:30 p.m. from the Hilliard Center. It will be broadcast live on Newstalk 560 KLVI and stream live on ESPN+.
 

LU vs. the Islanders
Lamar leads the all-time series with Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, 26-16 (.619), and the Cardinals have had success on the island. Lamar is 11-8 (.579) all-time in games played in Corpus Christi. While Lamar has won two of the past three meetings, including a season sweep of the series last year, the Islanders defeated LU in Beaumont earlier this season and have won six of the previous 10 meetings.
 
A bEAST on the Boards
Sophomore Braden East has dominated the glass during his sophomore season. He pulled down a game-high 12 rebounds against Northwestern State to secure his seventh consecutive double-double. He has recorded double-figure rebounds in 14 games this year. He currently leads the Southland averaging 9.2 rebounds per game and is tied for tops in the SLC averaging 3.0 offensive rebounds per game.
 
Double-Double Vision
Sophomore Braden East scored 10 points and pulled down 12 rebounds to record his 12th double-double of the season Monday against Northwestern State. It marked the seventh consecutive game where he has recorded a double-double. East currently leads the Southland Conference and is tied for 12th nationally in the stat. The Houston, Texas native is averaging 17.9 points, 11.6 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game over the course of the team's past three games.
 
Switching Things Up
LU head coach Alvin Brooks switched things up Monday going with a new starting lineup. Lamar had gone with the same lineup for the previous 13 games but Monday Errol White returned to the starting lineup, while freshmen Eian Lowe and Jayden Gambrell each recorded their first career start.
 
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 Cardinals 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. He is also a member of the Cardinals Hall of Honor.
 
The Cardinal Rule
Lamar has been one of the SLC's more dominant teams. LU has won 53 percent of league games and has more NCAA tournament appearances than any of the current SLC schools (6), and their five NIT berths are also tops in the league. LU has had 85 players earn All-SLC honors, including 32 first-team selections. Six players have been named league newcomer of the year, five SLC tournament MVPs, four SLC Players of the Year, three SLC All-Defensive Team selections, two freshmen of the year and a defensive player of the year.