HAMMOND - After opening Southland Conference play with an impressive win over Lamar, the Southeastern Louisiana University men's basketball team returns to action on Wednesday when it visits in-state rival Northwestern State at Prather Coliseum.

Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. The game can be heard in the Hammond area on KSLU-FM (90.9) and on the internet at www.LionSports.net.

Southeastern (9-5, 1-0 Southland) looks to post its first 2-0 start in league play since defeating UTSA and Stephen F. Austin in the 2005-06 season. A win over Northwestern State (5-9, 0-1 Southland), the Lions' most common opponent with 119 games between the rivals since 1947-48, would give Southeastern its third straight regular-season victory over the Demons in Natchitoches after 14 consecutive losses dating back to the 1984-85 season.

The Lions opened league play with a 78-56 win over Lamar on Saturday as Southeastern shot a season-high 61 percent from the floor and went 10-for-18 from behind the 3-point line.

Damon Forest, Southeastern's second-leading scorer entering the game at 12.1 points per game, scored a game-high 24 points against the Cardinals and is averaging 20.0 points per game since being inserted in the starting lineup on Jan. 2.

Patrick Sullivan, who leads Southeastern in scoring (14.9) and rebounds (8.2), added 14 points for the Lions and became the 16th player in school history to reach 1,000 career points. Trent Hutchin (10.9), Brandon Fortenberry (9.7) and Gary Dixon (8.2) are next in scoring for the Lions, who average 76.1 points per game and lead the Southland Conference in field shooting (.472) and field goal defense (.396).

Northwestern State has dropped its last four games which have included losses at Hawaii, Texas A&M and Nicholls State.

Damon Jones leads the Demons in scoring at 13.7 points per game with Devon Baker next at 11.7. The Demons feature 11 players who average 10 or more minutes per game and average 74.2 points as a team while forcing 17 turnovers a game.