SAN ANTONIO, Texas - Southeastern's Michael Gardener scored a career-high 33 points, but it was not enough as the Lions were victimized by hot-shooting Texas-San Antonio, 106-86, Friday night in the UTSA Convocation Center.

The loss by Southeastern (19-8, 11-5 SLC) forged a three-way tie for the Southland Conference regular season title, as Texas-San Antonio (16-13, 11-5 SLC) and Texas-Arlington (16-11, 11-5 SLC) both finish deadlocked with the Lions. Because of conference tiebreaker rules, UTA will be the top seed in the SLC Tournament and will have homecourt advantage in next week's SLC Championships. Southeastern is seeded second and will host at least two games in the tournament while the Roadrunners claimed the No. 3 spot.

Southeastern will make its first-ever trip to the Southland Conference Tournament since joining the league prior to the 1997-98 season. The Lions host seventh-seeded Northwestern State, which defeated Louisiana-Monroe 69-58, on Monday at 7 p.m. in the University Center. The Lions defeated the Demons, 85-78, back on Feb. 18, behind 23 points from Gardener.

"We played well offensively, but Texas-San Antonio was just on fire tonight. We have to put this loss behind us and get ready for the tournament," Southeastern head coach Billy Kennedy said. "UTSA had a great crowd here tonight and we need the same kind of atmosphere in the University Center on Monday."

The 106 points scored by Texas-San Antonio marked the first time a Lion opponent scored 100 or more points against a Billy Kennedy-coached team. The last time Southeastern allowed 100 points was in a 114-60 loss at Auburn in the 1997-98 season opener.

The Roadrunners lived up to their nickname in the first 20 minutes as they ran up and down the floor and shot a blistering 62.5 percent (35-of-56), including 72.4 percent (21-for-29) in the first half. Leroy Hurd, Justin Harbert and Rapheal Posey had nine of the Roadrunners' 11 threes in the game, as UTSA ended the half with a 9-2 run to go into the break with an NBA-like 61-53 advantage. Hurd scored 25 points to lead five Roadrunners in double figures. Kurt Attaway nabbed a career-high eight steals, including seven in the finish half.

The Lions did not shoot poorly from the floor in their own right, finishing the game with a 44.8 shooting percentage (30-for-67), including 10-for-26 from behind the arc. In addition to Gardener's performance, Nate Lofton finished with 19 points to go along with his team-high seven rebounds. Amir Abdur-Rahim added 12 points, while Terry West pitched in 11 for the Lions.

UTSA continued the hot shooting in the second half, as the Roadrunners quickly built a double-digit lead early in the final period. UTSA opened with a 10-2 run to open the second half and took a 71-55 lead with 17:25 remaining and never looked back, as the Roadrunners led by at least 13 the rest of the way.

Tickets for Monday's Southland Conference first round matchup with the Demons are on sale now at the Southeastern Athletics Ticket Office. Reserved tickets are on sale for $10 with general admission seats priced at $7. Students from Southland Conference institutions get in free with a valid school ID Card. For more information, contact the Southeastern Ticket Office at (985) 549-5466.

SOUTHEASTERN LOUISIANA (19-7, 11-5 SLC)
Gardener 11-23 7-7 33, Abdur-Rahim 4-11 0-0 12, West 4-10 2-2 11, Patton 2-3 0-0 5, Lofton 6-8 7-12 19, Bryant 1-4 0-0 2, Berry 0-0 0-0 0, Edwards 0-2 0-0 0, Frey 0-0 0-1 0, Walker 2-6 0-0 4. Totals 30-67 16-22 86.

TEXAS-SAN ANTONIO (16-13, 11-5 SLC)
Hurd 6-13 10-11 25, Harbert 6-7 3-3 18, Attaway 2-8 2-4 7, President 4-5 2-2 11, Fuqua 4-4 3-4 11, Cole 0-0 1-2 1, Ivy 3-3 0-0 6, Salinas 0-0 0-0 0, Millsap 2-2 0-1 4, Posey 7-12 4-4 21, Hall 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 35-56 25-31 106.

Halftime - UTSA 61, Southeastern 53. 3-point goals - Southeastern 10-26 (Abdur-Rahim 4-9, Gardener 4-7, West 1-5, Patton 1-2, Edwards 0-2, Bryant 0-1) UTSA 11-18 (Hurd 3-7, Harbert 3-4, Posey 3-4, Attaway 1-2, President 1-1). Fouled Out - None. Rebounds - Southeastern 26 (Lofton 7) UTSA 37 (Harbert, Attaway 5). Assists - Southeastern 11 (Gardener 5) UTSA 19 (Hurd, Attaway 4). Technical Fouls - None. Total Fouls - Southeastern 22, UTSA 23. A - 2,746.