Guest abovetherim Posted January 11, 2008 Report Posted January 11, 2008 By Bob West The Port Arthur News If the West Division of the Southland Conference is vastly superior to the East, as non-league results would have you believe, it certainly hasn’t shown up yet. With five SLC games in the books, the East is 5-0. Among the teams in the West that have gone down are 12-2 Sam Houston State, 12-2 Stephen F. Austin and 10-4 Texas-Arlington, which has already lost twice.Northwestern State has done the most damage, knocking off Arlington and Texas State in Natchitoches The biggest shocker of early league play, however, was Southeastern Louisiana shocking Sam Houston State, 61-58, Wednesday night in Huntsville.“I didn’t buy into all the talk about how much better the West was,†says Lamar coach Steve Roccaforte. “Look back to last year’s conference tournament. Three of the last four teams playing — Lamar, McNeese St., Northwestern St. — were from the East. “Now I don’t think you can read too much into what has happened thus far, because all but one of the wins was by a team playing at home. But I’ve been saying on my radio show for weeks that Northwestern would beat Arlington in Natchitoches. I do think you have to be surprised at Southeastern beating Sam Houston in Huntsville.â€Roccaforte and his Lamar Cardinals finally swing into SLC action tonight, hosting Texas-San Antonio. It’s also the league opener for the Roadrunners who come in with the same 6-7 record as Lamar. But, while Lamar is on the uptick, UT-SA has dropped six of eight and is 0-6 on the road.The Cardinals rallied from 14 down to top Utah Valley State, 74-69, Tuesday night and have won three of the last four, with the only setback a 79-77 heartbreaker at Texas Tech. Roccaforte feels good about his club after the way it fought back against UVS.“Offensively, I thought we did a really good job against a hard team that was changing defenses. And defensively we really turned it up at about the 12-minute mark. We played a lot harder and made our press work.â€Against UT-SA, which is coached by Oklahoma State ex Brooks Thompson, Lamar will have to work hard for its points, says the LU coach.“They play rough and tumble on the defensive end. Coach Thompson is an Eddie Sutton disciple. They are going to put a lot of pressure on the ball and try to keep you from reversing it. We won at their place last year (71-59), but it was like pulling teeth.“Both team are 0-0 in conference play. It’s a new start, so it’s going to be high intensity. We need to protect our home court. To win the conference, and that’s what we’re shooting for, you have to win your home games and take what you can on the road.â€UT-SA, which is coming off a loss at Texas-Pan American, is led by 6-7 junior redshirt Travis Gabbidon, who averages 14.2 points and six rebounds. The Roadrunners also boast a dangerous three-point shooter in lefty Joey Shank.Shank, a 6-3 junior, is shooting 44.9 percent behind the bonus line and averages 10.9 points.Lamar’s strength has been hitting the offensive boards, creating scoring opportunities with its press and the depth to sustain playing hard in a 94-foot game. An encouraging sign of late has been the improved play of the veteran guard trio of 6-4 senior Matt Barrow, 6-2 senior Darren Hopkins and 6-4 senior Currye Todd.The Cardinals leader through non-conference play has been junior college point guard Kenny Dawkins who averages 15 points and four assists. Six-six senior Lamar Sanders (11.0 ppg, 7.4 rpg) and 6-6 junior Justin Nabors (10.5 ppg, 6.9 rpg) have been steady forces on the inside. LAMAR FAST FACTS• When: Saturday, 7 p.m.• Where: Montagne Center (10,080), Beaumont• Records: UT-SA 6-7, LU 6-7• Series: LU leads 15-10. • Last meeting: LU 71-59 on Jan. 6, 2007 in San Antonio• Radio: KVLI (560-AM)• Probable starters: UT-SA: Travis Gabbidon 6-7, Jr. (14.2 ppg, 6.0 rpg); Keith Spener 6-8, Sr. (7.4 ppg, 5.9 rpg); Joey Shank 6-3, Jr. (10.9 ppg, 1.5 rpg); Issiah Allen 6-3, Sr. (7.4 ppg, 2.5 rpg); Melvin Smith 6-3, Sr. (5.2 ppg, 1.2 rpg). LU: Lamar Sanders 6-6, Sr. (10.4 ppg, 7.6 rpg); Justin Nabors 6-6, Jr. (10.5 ppg, 6.9 rpg); Kenny Dawkins 5-9, Jr. (15.0 ppg, 4.0 apg); Lawrence Nwevo 6-8, Jr. (6.3 ppg, 3.9 rpg); Brandon McThay 5-10, Jr. (5.3 ppg, 2.0 apg).• UT-SA fast fact: Roadrunners have lost 6 of their last 8 and are 0-6 on the road. • LU fast fact: With Lamar Sanders and Justin Nabors leading the way, Cardinals are averaging 15.7 offensive rebounds in their last seven games.http://www.panews.com/sports/local_story_011224359.html?start:int=15
KFDM COOP Posted January 11, 2008 Report Posted January 11, 2008 VIDEOhttp://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid1138292619/bclid1138334401/bctid1374480119
Guest abovetherim Posted January 11, 2008 Report Posted January 11, 2008 Cards embark on tough SLC schedule http://www.beaumontenterprise.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=19192158&BRD=2287&PAG=461&dept_id=583964&rfi=6
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