San Diego State (4-3) is looking to win two in a row when they host the Lamar Cardinals of the Southland Conference, at Viejas Arena Wednesday night. The game is scheduled to tip-off at 7pm PST and you can watch right here at sonsofmontezuma.com and on Sons of Montezuma’s YouTube channel.
The Aztecs uncharacteristically have struggled at home this season and to perceived lesser talented teams. Their most recent victory came last week against Utah Valley, 77-66. They did not have a clear rhythmn with the offense and defensive lapses allowed the opposing team hang around.
They eventually shut the door down on the Wolverines and SDSU walked away with the win at home. Against Lamar is a similar underdog test that HC Brian Dutcher’s team will have to get up for and stay focused on while trying to attack the Cardinals in the right way.
Lamar is coming down to Viejas Arena at 5-3 on the season, but are driven after a shaky Southland Conference start. As of their last game, Lamar dropped their league opener to Texas A&M Corpus-Christi, shooting just 37.3% overall and under 32% from 3-point range.
Lamar’s Key Components
The team is led by head coach Alvin Brooks who is in his 5th year at the helm in this 2025–26 season. Last year his Cardinals finished the slate 20-13 overall. After winning just two games in his first season and nine wins in his second year, Coach Brooks seems to have his team headed in the right direction before last week’s loss.
Balanced inside-outside scoring and solid front-court presence is usually the way Lamar performs well. The current leading scorer is forward Andrew Holifield. And their forward/center corps (with players like Holifield and others) give them some rim protection and interior rebounding.
More specifically #22 Andrew Holifield averages at about 13 points per game. He’s 6’10” with a long wingspan but also just under 185 lbs so definitely not a banger but at 2 blocks per game, he’s definitely a rim protecter. He’s a finisher at 50% FG and can knock down the 3-point shot some at 36%.
Shared in that ppg average is guard #24 Rob Lee Jr. At 6’2″ 190, Lee hits 42% from behind the 3-point line and has the ability to get real hot. He put up 26 points in a respectable loss to TCU earlier in the season.
Providing the muscle in the starting five is Forward #4 Braden East. A strong 6’9″ 238lbs, East cleans up just under 8 rebounds per game and the other day against Louisiana Lafayette knocked down 24 points and lived at the free throw line.
Lamar likes to push tempo and can punish defensive lapses. In past games, when their defense gets stops and they secure rebounds, Lamar has shown they can score in transition or inside the paint either way just fine.
Opportunistic on defense, rebound, push in transition or feed inside—that seems to be the key for them. They aren’t a purely 3-point reliant or slow half-court-only team and their past games show good balance of 3-point shooting, inside scoring, and transition buckets.
With the Aztecs struggles of playing consistently together, if they can deny Dutcher’s team second-chance opportunities, they can really improve their odds if they can clean up the boards.
Overall the Aztecs hold every advantage across the board. But lackluster effort and sloppy execution could again put themselves in a precarious situation. Wether Lamar as a team has the finishers to close out a game if given the opportunity still remains to be seen.
San Diego State vs Lamar takes place Wednesday night. The game is scheduled to tip-off at 7pm PST and you can watch right here at sonsofmontezuma.com and on Sons of Montezuma’s YouTube channel.
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