Feb. 2, 2010

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** Lamar concludes the first half of the Southland Conference slate on Wednesday by playing host to Central Arkansas in a game that kicks-off a 3-game homestand.

** Lamar leads the series - which dates back three years - 5-0.

** Lamar is 8-3 this season when scoring at least 74 points, 9-1 when leading at the half, 9-3 when shooting better from the floor and 9-2 when blocking more shots than the opposition.

** Lamar is 17-7 (.708) in February under Steve Roccaforte, with a .500 record or better each of his three seasons.

** Lamar is 10-2 (.833) at home this season with a 2- 1 league mark. The 10 victories are the most in the SLC thus far. The Cards are 44-12 (.786) since the beginning of the 2006-07 season.

Coaching Staff Donates Shoes To Buckner

As part of the Coaches vs. Cancer Suits and Sneakers Awareness Weekend, a collaborative initiative of the American Cancer Society and the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC), Lamar's coaches, along with many across the country, wore sneakers instead of dress shoes with their suits during last weekend's games to demonstrate their support for the American Cancer Society and its vision of a world with less cancer and more birthdays.

Lamar is also recognizing the event at home on Wednesday against Central Arkansas in conjunction with a partnership with Buckner Children and Family Services. In light of recent events in Haiti, Buckner is working throughout the state with various organizations to collect humanitarian aid supplies, including new shoes, socks and shoelaces to be shipped to Haitian earthquake survivors.

Fans are asked to donate new pairs of tennis shoes at the door and will receive $5 off their tickets on the night of the game.

While helping Buckner, Lamar University Athletics will also raise awareness for the American Cancer Society as coaches and staff will wear tennis shoes with their suits during the game. For this game, Lamar will invite fans to donate new tennis shoes to Buckner Shoes for Orphan Souls program.

Head coach Steve Roccaforte and his staff have already announced they are donating five pairs of new shoes to the effort.

Series History

This will be the sixth meeting between Lamar and UCA. Lamar has won all five previous meetings which have come over the past three seasons since UCA's inception into the Southland Conference. In 2006-07, Lamar claimed a 62-50 decision in Beaumont and then holding off a late UCA rally for a 66-62 win in Conway. In 2007-08, the Cards left Conway with an 89-86 overtime win on Jan. 24 before claiming a 73-58 win in Beaumont on "White Out" Night. And last season, it took a Kenny Dawkins 20-foot jumper with 1.7 seconds left to give the Cards a 59-57 road win.

The average margin of victory in the two games played in Beaumont is 14.0 ppg, while the margin of the three in the Natural State is a combined nine points, or 3.0 ppg.

About UCA

Central Arkansas makes its first visit to Beaumont in two years and brings a 7-14 overall record, while sitting in sixth place in the SLC East Division with a 1-6 mark. The lone league win was a 64-50 home victory over Nicholls before a record crowd of 5,297 on Scottie Pippen Night.

The Bears were 5-5 on the year in mid- December, but have since gone 2-9 with an 0-5 ledger on the road.

Tadre Sheppard leads the team in scoring with 12.4 points per contest on 60 percent shooting, a figure that places him second in the SLC. He would rank fifth in the nation except that his 88 made field goals in 21 games don't meet the minimum qualification of five made field goals per game. He also ranks sixth in the SLC with 8.0 rebounds per game. Mitch Rueter (11.9 ppg, 5.4 rpg) and Chris Poellnitz (11.5 ppg, 3.1 rpg) are the only other Bears averaging more than nine points a ball game. UCA averages just 63.4 ppg on 41.1 percent for the season. In fact, the Bears rank in the bottom three in the SLC in all six offensive statistical categories.

LU and UCA have faced four common opponents in the first seven games of SLC action - A&M Corpus Christi, McNeese State, Southeastern La. and Texas State. UCA was 0-4 against the quartet, while Lamar has gone 1-3 with the victory coming over McNeese State.

Rand Chappell is in his seventh season in Conway and has fashioned a 102-97 mark, and 300- 159 in 15 years as a college head coach. His 300th career win came in the Nicholls game on Jan. 20.

Nabors Turning It On During Conference Play

As a senior who missed last season with a leg and elbow injury, Justin Nabors is doing everything he can to make his final season memorable. His scoring average is listed at 13.8 points per game but that doesn't show the second gear he has gone to in league play. He ended the pre-conference slate of 15 games with 12.7 ppg while shooting .503 from the floor and .656 from the FT line. In the seven SLC games he has averaged 16.1 ppg - a 3.4 ppg/30 pct increase, while shooting .526 and .816 from the floor and charity stripe, respectively.

He has scored 629 points for a 12.3 career scoring average. He also has 404 rebounds to put his board averages at 7.9 rpg, which is on pace to finish among the school's top-15.

Miles Passes 500-Point Plateau In Soph. Year

With his 19-point effort in Saturday's win at UTSA, guard Anthony Miles ran his career scoring total to 503 points at Lamar. While a handful of players in recent years have scored 500 points in two seasons, they have all done so as transfers with more college experience than Miles arrived with as a true freshman last season. That being said, he is the first sophomore to reach the 500-point mark in 18 years, following Atiime Browne (1990-94) who had 811 after two seasons in 1990-91 and 91-92. Ron Coleman had 882 points after his first two seasons in Beaumont but was actually a junior after he had played his freshman year at Weber State in 1993-94.

Lamar In The NCAA Stats

In the most recent NCAA statistics that were released on Monday, Lamar is ranked in the top half of the country in four team categories. LU is 37th in rebound margin (+5.4), 94th in blocked shots (4.1), 88th in assists (14.5) and 154th in scoring offense (70.1).

Individually, Justin Nabors is 25th in rebounds (9.9), 71st in field goal pct. (51.1) and tied for 20th in double-doubles (10); Charlie Harper is 161st in rebounding (7.3); Coy Custer is 96th in blocked shots (1.6); and Anthony Miles is 203rd in assists (3.6).