BEAUMONT – One of the most storied men's basketball rivalries in the Southland Conference will be renewed on Saturday when McNeese visits Lamar in the first of two meetings in the next 10 days.
 
Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m. at Lamar's Montagne Center, or 30 minutes following a women's 4 o'clock contest between the two teams.
 
McNeese (10-14, 4-9 SLC) will be looking to build off its 74-69 win over Southeastern Louisiana on Monday in its last outing while the Cardinals (13-12, 7-6) defeated Houston Baptist 72-64 on Monday to notch their second straight win.
 
A series that began in the early 1950s has seen its fair-share of intense matchups, most of those coming in the late 70s and early 80s when the two squad year-in and year-out packed the former homes of the two programs – the Lake Charles Civic Center and the Beaumont Civic Center – by watching games that included standouts such as Joe Dumars, John Rudd, B.B. Davis, and Mike Oliver.
 
The Cardinals lead the all-time series by a 50-45 mark but McNeese has held the upper hand lately by winning 7 of the last 10 games, including three straight. Lamar's last win over the Cowboys came in the 2012 SLC tournament championship game by way of a 70-49 thumping to advance to the NCAA tournament.
 
McNeese will enter Saturday's game boasting one of the top players in the league in senior Desharick Guidry. Guidry ranks first in the league in rebounding (11.6), fourth in scoring (17.6), sixth in 3-point shooting (40.6 percent), and ninth in steals (1.5). He's also fourth in the nation in rebounding and is tied at the top with 18 double-doubles.
 
Fellow senior Kevin Hardy is second on the team in scoring (12.9) and rebounding (6.8) and is the team leader and ranked second in the conference and ninth nationally with 2.5 steals per game.
 
Lamar is led in scoring by Anthony Holliday's 14.9 mark. He's also averaging 19.8 points a game in Southland games only.
 
The two teams will face off once more on March 2 in Lake Charles.
 
Worth Noting: Saturday's game will feature three McNeese basketball head coaches – current head coach Dave Simmons, assistant coach and former head coach Steve Welch, and former head coach and current Lamar head coach Tic Price. Also on Price's staff is former McNeese guard Anthony Anderson who played in 1993 and 1994.