Box Score HAMMOND – #Robert Tibbs# came off the bench to score 22 points to lead six players in double figures and Southeastern Louisiana opened the game with a 23-4 run en route to a 108-51 win over Southern-New Orleans Saturday afternoon at the University Center.
Kevyn Green added 20 points for Southeastern (4-3), whose 57-point win was the fourth-largest margin of victory in school history.
Brandon Fortenberry added a season-high 14 points for the Lions while
Warrell Span added 12,
Chris Cyprian 11 and
Antonio Pope 11.
“We didn't want to stumble into (final) exams, we wanted to keep good momentum and see if we could work hard enough,” Southeastern head coach
Jim Yarbrough, who earned his 150th career win, said. “I thought our guys were pretty focused. There were still some freshmen mistakes and times where we were a bit too eager, but it was a pretty solid performance from everybody.”
Southeastern led, 6-4, before Fortenberry's 3-pointer started a 17-0 run for the Lions. Cyprian scored on a fastbreak layup off a steal by Fortenberry before Green hit four consecutive 3-pointers to give Southeastern a 23-4 lead at the 12:11 mark.
The Lions' reserves kept up the pressure, as they scored 43 points off the bench, with Tibbs and Pope each recording season-highs. A steal and a dunk by freshman
DeShawn Patterson gave Southeastern a 32-9 lead.
SUNO (0-5) never got closer than 20 points the rest of the way as Southeastern, which rallied for a 57-44 victory in the first meeting between the schools last season, led by as many as 36 points in the first half and 52-23 at halftime.
The Lions, who improved to 3-0 at home scoring 100.7 points in their three games, posted their third straight game above the 50-percent mark from the floor finishing 44-for-80 (55 percent) from the floor and 12-for-28 (43 percent) from behind the 3-point line.
A layup by SUNO's Robert Palmer with 19:05 remaining in the game closed the gap to 54-25, but Southeastern scored the next 11 points as Fortenberry hit a 3-pointer and a layup, Cyprian added a pair of layups and Span hit a baseline jumper to a 65-25 lead.
Tibbs, who finished 8-for-11 from the floor, gave Southeastern its biggest lead of the game, 101-40, with a layup with 3:48 left. The Lions matched the lead twice in the final 1:56 as Pope scored on a layup and freshman
Stephen Burches sank a 3-pointer from the right corner to put Southeastern ahead 106-45 with 1:09 left.
All 13 players saw action for Southeastern with 11 entering the scoring column. The Lions also dominated on the glass, outrebounding the Knights, 56-20, with
Patrick Sullivan pulling down 12 while Pope and
David Ndoumba added eight. The Lions scored 27 points off 21 SUNO turnovers while dominating scoring in the paint, 60-26.
Billy Wilson led SUNO with 17 points, seven rebounds and four blocks. Clipton Warren added 14 points for the Knights, who dressed seven players, while freshman Ramond Henry chipped in with 10. The Knights finished 19-for-52 (37 percent) from the floor and went 10-for-23 from the free throw line.
Southeastern will take off for final exams before returning to action on Saturday when it travels to face Sun Belt Conference member Florida Atlantic in a 7 p.m. EST contest in Boca Raton, Fla.
SOUTHERN-NEW ORLEANS (0-5)
Wilson 6-15 5-10 17; Warren 4-8 5-13 14; Henry 4-12 0-0 10; Gregg 2-7 0-0 4; Palmer 2-7 0-0 4; Barnes 1-2 0-0 2; Smith 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 19-52 10-23 51.
SOUTHEASTERN LOUISIANA (4-3)
Tibbs 8-11 4-4 22; Green 7-12 2-4 20; Fortenberry 5-7 0-0 14; Span 6-9 0-0 12; Pope 5-7 1-4 11; Cyprian 5-10 0-0 11; Sullivan 4-6 0-0 8; Ndoumba 1-5 1-2 3; Burches 1-2 0-0 3; Hankins 1-1 0-0 2; Patterson 1-3 0-0 2; Dunbar 0-6 0-0 0; Richard 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 44-80 8-14 108.
Halftime – SLU 52, SUNO 23. 3-point goals – SUNO 3-10 (Henry 2-8; Warren 1-1; Wilson 0-1), SLU 12-28 (Green 4-8; Fortenberry 4-5; Tibbs 2-3; Cyprian 1-4; Burches 1-2; Patterson 0-1; Dunbar 0-4; Richard 0-1). Fouled out - None. Rebounds – SUNO 20 (Wilson 7), SLU 56 (Sullivan 12). Assists – SUNO 7 (Warren 4), SLU 27 (Patterson 5). Total fouls – SUNO 8, SLU 16. Technical fouls - None. A – 613.
