Box Score

Box Score

HAMMOND – Southeastern Louisiana's Patrick Sullivan scored a team-high 21 points to lead four players in double figures and the Lions held off a late rally to defeat Jacksonville State, 77-73, Tuesday night at the University Center.

Trent Hutchin, Gary Dixon and Brandon Fortenberry added 11 points each as Southeastern (3-1) shot 54 percent from the floor and led for nearly the entire game. Jacksonville State, a former league rival of Southeastern in the Trans America Athletic Conference (now the Atlantic Sun) and the Division II Gulf South Conference, fell to 2-2.

Sullivan, who finished 9-for-16 from the floor, grabbed a game-high eight rebounds and blocked five shots for the Lions. Southeastern snapped a 4-4 deadlock on a three-point play by Jason Marks with 17:09 remaining in the first half and the Lions never trailed again.

A layup by David Ndoumba gave Southeastern its biggest lead of the half at 25-12 before JSU chipped away at the lead, getting as close as 27-21 on a pair of free throws by Jay-R Strowbridge.

Southeastern closed out the half scoring the next seven points, capped by a Marks jumper, and led 34-23 at intermission.

JSU, which outscored Southeastern in the second half, 50-43, turned a 14-point deficit into a 49-45 contest when Jeremy Bynum sank a 3-pointer at the 12:03 mark. The Gamecocks, who fell to 2-7 all-time in games played in Hammond, could not get any closer the rest of the way as Southeastern pushed the lead to 58-48 on a pair of free throws by Robert Tibbs.

Trenton Marshall, a Garyville native and former East St. John High product, led JSU scoring 21 of his game-high 25 points in the second half. Nick Murphy added 19 points for the Gamecocks while Strowbridge chipped in with 12.

Southeastern will return to action on Saturday when it plays host to Millsaps College in a 12:45 p.m. contest. The game is the first of a doubleheader with the Southeastern women's team, which will battle Centenary at 3 p.m.

JACKSONVILLE STATE (2-2)
Marshall 9-17 4-4 25; Murphy 7-11 5-8 19; Strowbridge 3-13 6-6 12; Hall 2-2 2-2 6; Mbodji 2-2 0-0 4; Bynum 1-4 0-0 3; Shellman 1-6 0-0 2; Thurston 1-3 0-1 2; Barnes 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 26-61 17-21 73.

SOUTHEASTERN LOUISIANA (3-1)
Sullivan 9-16 3-4 21; Dixon 4-7 3-4 11; Fortenberry 1-4 8-8 11; Hutchin 3-5 4-4 11; Patterson 3-6 2-4 8; Tibbs 2-2 2-3 6; Marks 2-3 1-2 5; Forest 1-3 0-0 2; Ndoumba 1-2 0-0 2; Burches 0-0 0-0 0; Jones 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 26-48 23-29 77.

Halftime – SLU 34, JSU 23. 3-point goals – JSU 4-16 (Marshall 3-5; Bynum 1-2; Strowbridge 0-5; Shellman 0-2; Barnes 0-1; Murphy 0-1), SLU 2-9 (Hutchin 1-3; Fortenberry 1-2; Forest 0-1; Dixon 0-3). Fouled out - None. Rebounds – JSU 37 (Murphy 7), SLU 27 (Sullivan 8). Assists – JSU 8 (Shellman 3), SLU 12 (Patterson, Sullivan 3). Total fouls – JSU 18, SLU 18. Technical fouls - None. A – 731.