Lamar visits New Orleans after Buckley’s 24-point performance

By Canadian Press on January 18, 2026.

Lamar Cardinals (10-8, 5-4 Southland) at New Orleans Privateers (7-12, 4-5 Southland)

New Orleans; Monday, 8 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: New Orleans takes on Lamar after Jakevion Buckley scored 24 points in New Orleans’ 84-79 loss to the Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks.

The Privateers are 3-3 on their home court. New Orleans has a 3-7 record against opponents above .500.

The Cardinals are 5-4 in conference games. Lamar ranks eighth in the Southland shooting 33.8% from 3-point range.

New Orleans’ average of 7.7 made 3-pointers per game this season is just 0.8 more made shots on average than the 6.9 per game Lamar allows. Lamar has shot at a 43.8% rate from the field this season, 0.5 percentage points higher than the 43.3% shooting opponents of New Orleans have averaged.

The Privateers and Cardinals meet Monday for the first time in Southland play this season.

TOP PERFORMERS: Coleton Benson is averaging 15.9 points for the Privateers. MJ Thomas is averaging 12.6 points and 8.6 rebounds over the past 10 games.

Rob Lee Jr. is shooting 45.0% and averaging 15.7 points for the Cardinals. Andrew Holifield is averaging 2.3 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Privateers: 4-6, averaging 75.7 points, 32.6 rebounds, 12.1 assists, 4.3 steals and 5.0 blocks per game while shooting 46.0% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 81.6 points per game.

Cardinals: 5-5, averaging 70.9 points, 32.3 rebounds, 13.1 assists, 7.2 steals and 3.8 blocks per game while shooting 43.3% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 70.9 points.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

The Associated Press