2018–19 Lamar Cardinals basketball team

The 2018–19 Lamar Cardinals basketball team represented Lamar University during the 2018–19 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Cardinals were led by fifth-year head coach Tic Price and played their home games at the Montagne Center in Beaumont, Texas as members of the Southland Conference.

For information on all Lamar University sports, see Lamar Cardinals and Lady Cardinals

2018–19 Lamar Cardinals basketball
Conference	Southland Conference
2018–19 record	20–13 (12–6 Southland)
Head coach	Tic Price (5th season)
Associate head coach	Bobby Kummer (5th season)
Assistant coaches	David Dumars (1st season) Brandon Chappell (2nd season)
Home arena	Montagne Center (Capacity: 10,080)

2018–19 Southland Conference men's basketball standings
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
Sam Houston State	16	–	2		.889			21	–	12		.636
Abilene Christian †	14	–	4		.778			27	–	7		.794
Southeastern Louisiana	12	–	6		.667			17	–	16		.515
New Orleans	12	–	6		.667			19	–	14		.576
Lamar	12	–	6		.667			20	–	13		.606
Texas A&M–CC	9	–	9		.500			14	–	18		.438
Central Arkansas	8	–	10		.444			14	–	19		.424
Houston Baptist	8	–	10		.444			12	–	18		.400
Stephen F. Austin	7	–	11		.389			14	–	16		.467
Nicholls	7	–	11		.389			14	–	17		.452
Northwestern State	6	–	12		.333			11	–	20		.355
McNeese State	5	–	13		.278			9	–	22		.290
Incarnate Word	1	–	17		.056			6	–	25		.194
† 2019 Southland Tournament winner

The Cardinals finished conference play with as 12–6 record in a three-way tie with New Orleans and Southeastern Louisiana for third place. The team qualified for the 2019 Southland Conference Men's Basketball Tournament as the fifth seeded team. They won the first-round game against eighth seed Houston Baptist by a score of 81–79. The season ended when the Cardinals were eliminated in the second round by fourth seed New Orleans with a score of 72–76.

Previous season

The Cardinals finished the 2017–18 season 19–14, 11–7 in Southland play to finish in a tie for fifth place. They lost in the first round of the Southland Tournament to Central Arkansas. They were invited to the CollegeInsider.com Tournament where they lost in the first round to UTSA.[1]

Offseason

Coaching changes

• Justin Bailey, assistant basketball coach at Lamar from 2016–2018, accepted the head coach position at University of Arkansas–Fort Smith.[2]
• David Dumars joined the Lamar Cardinals basketball staff as assistant coach on August 20, 2018. Dumars had been assistant coach / associate head coach on the McNeese State Cowboys basketball staff from 2002–2018.[3]

Departures

Name	Position	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Reason for Departure
Zjori Bosha	G	6'5"	177	SR	Nome, TX	Graduated
Joey Frenchwood	G	6'1"	184	SR	Nederland, TX	Graduated
James Harrison	F	6'5"	200	SR-TR	Jacksonville, FL	Graduated
Terry Noel	G	5'10"	190	SR	Midwest City, OK	Graduated
Colton Weisbrod	F	6'5"	218	SR	Nederland, TX	Graduated

Sources:[4]

Player additions

Three players signed letters of intent during the early signing period. Christian Barrett, a transfer, played at Jacksonville College. Barrett will play forward. Davion Buster and Gehlon Easter were high school recruits. Both will play guard.[5] Another transfer, Edwin Jeudy, was announced on March 17, 2018. Jeudy will be transferring from Gillette College. He was ranked number 78 in the 2018 Junior College Basketball Top 100 Player Rankings.[6]

Incoming transfers

Name	Number	Position	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Previous School
Christian Barrett		PF	6'6"	220	Junior	Houston, Texas	Junior college transferred from Jacksonville College
Edwin Jeudy		PF	6'7"	210	Junior	Montreal, Canada	Junior college transferred from Gillette College

2018–19 recruiting class
Source:[7]

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes

Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Davion Buster G	Austin, TX	Lanier HS	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)	150 lb (68 kg)	Jul 3, 2017
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A
Gehlon Easter G	Little Rock, AR	Mills HS	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	172 lb (78 kg)	Nov 8, 2017
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A
Overall recruiting rankings:
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources:

Roster

Sources:[8]

2018–19 Lamar Cardinals men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Hometown G 0 Jordan Hunter 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Jr Beaumont, TX G 1 Mike Kolawole 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Jr Rowlett, Texas G 2 Grehlon Easter 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 172 lb (78 kg) Fr Little Rock, Arkansas G 3 Nick Garth 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 191 lb (87 kg) Sr Houston, Texas F/C 5 Avery Sullivan 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 220 lb (100 kg) So Pflugerville, Texas F 11 Josh Nzeakor 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Sr Mesquite, Texas G 12 V.J. Holmes 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Jr Jupiter, Florida G 13 Davion Buster 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 150 lb (68 kg) Fr Austin, Texas F 14 Edwin Jeudy 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Jr Montreal, Quebec, Canada G/F 15 T. J. Atwood 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 203 lb (92 kg) Jr Beaumont, Texas F 22 Christian Barrett 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Jr Houston, Texas C 23 Jordan Foster 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 225 lb (102 kg) So Lafayette, Louisiana G 24 Laquarious Paige 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Jr West Orange, Texas	Head coach Tic Price (Virginia Tech) Assistant coach(es) Bobby Kummer (Charlotte) David Dumars (Northeast Louisiana) Brandon Chappell (Lamar) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster Last update: September 10, 2018

TV and radio media

All Lamar games will be broadcast on KLVI, also known as News Talk 560.

Live video of all home games (except those picked up by Southland Conference TV agreements) will be streamed on ESPN3.[9]

Schedule and results

Sources:[10][11][12][13][14]

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	Site (attendance) city, state
Non-conference regular season
Nov 6, 2018* 7:00 pm, ESPN3		Huston–Tillotson	W 79–59	1–0	Montagne Center (1,559) Beaumont, TX
Nov 9, 2018* 6:30 pm, ACC+		at Georgia Tech Deep South Showcase	L 69–88	1–1	McCamish Pavilion (4,691) Atlanta, GA
Nov 11, 2018* 3:00 pm, ESPN3		at East Carolina Deep South Showcase	L 78–84 ^OT	1–2	Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum (3,104) Greenville, NC
Nov 17, 2018* 2:00 pm, ESPN3		Prairie View A&M Deep South Showcase	W 74–67	2–2	Montagne Center (1,837) Beaumont, TX
Nov 19, 2018* 7:00 pm, ESPN+		Arlington Baptist	W 105–40	3–2	Montagne Center (1,758) Beaumont, TX
Nov 23, 2018* 7:00 pm		at Texas–Rio Grande Valley Deep South Showcase	L 75–77	3–3	UTRGV Fieldhouse (424) Edinburg, TX
Nov 27, 2018* 7:00 pm, ESPN3		at SMU	L 65–79	3–4	Moody Coliseum (5,611) University Park, TX
Dec 1, 2018* 4:30 pm, ESPN3		at Rice	W 75–68	4–4	Tudor Fieldhouse (1,926) Houston, TX
Dec 4, 2018* 7:00 pm, ESPN3		at Houston	L 56–79	4–5	Fertitta Center (5,587) Houston, TX
Dec 13, 2018* 9:00 pm, ESPN3		at Cal State Bakersfield	L 65–86	4–6	Icardo Center (1,794) Bakersfield, CA
Dec 19, 2018* 7:00 pm, ESPN+		Texas Southern	W 80–72	5–6	Montagne Center (1,846) Beaumont, TX
Dec 21, 2018* 7:00 pm, ESPN3		Howard Payne	W 121–32	6–6	Montagne Center (1,367) Beaumont, TX
Dec 29, 2018* 2:00 pm, ESPN+		Champion Christian	W 122–58	7–6	Montagne Center (1,829) Beaumont, TX
Southland Conference regular season
Jan 2, 2019 7:00 pm		at Houston Baptist	L 82–88 ^OT	7–7 (0–1)	Sharp Gymnasium (683) Houston, TX
Jan 5, 2019 4:30 pm, ESPN3		Texas A&M–Corpus Christi	W 61–55	8–7 (1–1)	Montagne Center  Beaumont, TX
Jan 9, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN+		New Orleans	L 71–78 ^OT	8–8 (1–2)	Montagne Center (1,537) Beaumont, TX
Jan 12, 2019 4:00 pm, ELVN / SLC Digital		at Central Arkansas	L 68–75	8–9 (1–3)	Farris Center (714) Conway, AR
Jan 16, 2019 7:00 pm		at Southeastern Louisiana	L 69–76	8–10 (1–4)	University Center (605) Hammond, LA
Jan 23, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN+		Incarnate Word	L 81–87 ^OT	9–10 (2–4)	Montagne Center (2,464) Beaumont, TX
Jan 26, 2019 5:30 pm, ESPN3		at Sam Houston State	L 59–69	9–11 (2–5)	Bernard G. Johnson Coliseum  Huntsville, TX
Jan 30, 2019 7:00 pm		at Nicholls State	W 90–69	10–11 (3–5)	Stopher Gymnasium (315) Thibodaux, LA
Feb 2, 2019 3:00 pm, ELVN / SLC Digital		at McNeese State	W 84–75	11–11 (4–5)	H&HP Complex (2,492) Lake Charles, LA
Feb 6, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN+		Abilene Christian	L 64–75	11–12 (4–6)	Montagne Center (2,438) Beaumont, TX
Feb 9, 2019 4:30 pm, ESPN3		at Stephen F. Austin	W 82–67	12–12 (5–6)	William R. Johnson Coliseum (5,752) Nacogdoches, TX
Feb 13, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN+		Northwestern State	W 75–70	13–12 (6–6)	Montagne Center (1,860) Beaumont, TX
Feb 16, 2019 4:30 pm, ESPN3		Sam Houston State	W 75–72	14–12 (7–6)	Montagne Center (2,855) Beaumont, TX
Feb 20, 2019 7:00 pm		at Incarnate Word	W 87–81 ^OT	15–12 (8–6)	McDermott Convocation Center (2,464) San Antonio, TX
Feb 23, 2019 3:30 pm		at Texas A&M–Corpus Christi	W 63–58	16–12 (9–6)	American Bank Center (1,250) Corpus Christi, TX
Feb 27, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN+		Houston Baptist	W 110–75	17–12 (10–6)	Montagne Center (2,863) Beaumont, TX
Mar 2, 2019 4:30 pm, ESPN+		Stephen F. Austin	W 81–79	18–12 (11–6)	Montagne Center (3,551) Beaumont, TX
Mar 9, 2019 4:30 pm, ESPN+		McNeese State	W 83–58	19–12 (12–6)	Montagne Center (5,218) Beaumont, TX
Southland Tournament
Mar 13, 2019 5:00 pm, ESPN+	(5)	vs. (8) Houston Baptist First round	W 81–79	20–12	Leonard E. Merrell Center  Katy, TX
Mar 14, 2019 5:00 pm, ESPN+	(5)	vs. (4) New Orleans Second round	L 72–76	20–13	Leonard E. Merrell Center  Katy, TX
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time.

Awards and honors

Player of the week

• Dec. 27 – Nick Garth[15]
• Feb. 4 – Christian Barrett[16]
• Feb. 18 – Nick Garth[17]
• Mar. 4 – Nick Garth[18]

SLC All-Conference Team

Source:[19]

• First team - Nick Garth
• Second team - Josh Nzeakor

SLC Tournament Team

Josh Nzeakor was named to the SLC Tournament team.

See also

2018–19 Lamar Lady Cardinals basketball team

References

1. "Lamar Cardinals Schedule - 2017-18". ESPN. Retrieved August 17, 2018.
2. Matt Faye (June 29, 2018). "Lamar men's basketball assistant takes Div. II job". Hearst Newspapers, II LLC. Retrieved August 21, 2018.
3. James Dixon (August 20, 2018). "David Dumars Joins LU Coaching Staff". Lamar University Athletics. Retrieved August 21, 2018.
4. James Dixon (May 23, 2018). "Hoops Records Perfect Grad Rate Under Price". Lamar University Athletics. Retrieved August 22, 2018.
5. James Dixon (November 8, 2017). "LU Hoops Adds Three to Roster". Lamar University Athletics. Retrieved August 20, 2018.
6. "2018 Junior College Basketball Top 100 Player Rankings". JucoRecruiting.com. February 16, 2018. Retrieved August 22, 2018.
7. "Lamar Cardinals". Verbal Commits. Orange Wolf LLC. Retrieved August 20, 2018.
8. "2018-19 Men's Basketball Roster". Lamar University Athletics. Retrieved September 10, 2018.
9. "LU teams up with ESPN3 to show home games". Lamar University Athletics. January 4, 2016. Retrieved August 19, 2018.
10. "Lamar Cardinals Schedule - 2018-19". ESPN. Retrieved October 13, 2018.
11. Matt Faye (September 10, 2018). "Lamar men's basketball releases 2018-19 schedule". Hearst Newspapers II, LLC. Retrieved September 10, 2018.
12. "2018-19 Men's Basketball Schedule". Lamar University Athletics. Retrieved October 13, 2018.
13. "2018-19 College Basketball Early Season Tournaments, Events, And Neutral-Site Games". August 17, 2018. SBNation.
14. "SOUTHLAND ANNOUNCES 2018-19 BASKETBALL TV SCHEDULE". Southland Conference. November 5, 2018. Retrieved November 5, 2018.
15. "GARTH'S HOT SHOOTING LEADS TO PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONORS". Southland Conference. Retrieved March 15, 2019.
16. "CHRISTIAN BARRETT EARNS WEEKLY HONORS AFTER BACK-TO-BACK DOUBLE-DOUBLES". Southland Conference. Retrieved March 15, 2019.
17. "LAMAR'S NICK GARTH NAMED MEN'S BASKETBALL PLAYER OF THE WEEK". Southland Conference. Retrieved March 15, 2019.
18. "GARTH'S LONG-RANGE SHOOTING GARNERS THIRD PLAYER OF THE WEEK AWARD". Southland Conference. Retrieved March 15, 2019.
19. "SAM HOUSTON STATE'S CAMERON DELANEY WINS MEN'S BASKETBALL PLAYER OF THE YEAR". Southland Conference. Retrieved March 15, 2019.