Box Score Box Score
NATCHITOCHES – Damon Forest scored a game-high 18 points to lead four players in double figures and Southeastern Louisiana notched its first 2-0 start in Southland Conference play since 2005-06 with a hard-fought 70-64 victory over Northwestern State Wednesday at Prather Coliseum.
Jason Marks added a season-high 12 points while
Robert Tibbs and
Rodney Jones added 10 as Southeastern (10-5, 2-0 Southland) won its third straight regular-season game at Prather Coliseum after losing 14 straight. Northwestern State fell to 5-10 overall and 0-2 in the SLC.
Patrick Sullivan, who was limited to 16 minutes after getting in foul trouble, scored eight straight points that helped the Lions pull away from a 52-49 lead. Tibbs scored all 10 of his points in the second half, including 5-of-6 from the free throw line, as Southeastern held the Demons to 31 percent (21-for-67) in the game and 10-for-24 (29.4 percent) in the second half.
Mike McConathy hit one of two free throws that closed the gap to 65-61 with 55 seconds remaining before Jones answered with a free throw and Forest scored on a fastbreak layup that put the Lions ahead, 68-61.
Northwestern State, which was led by Devon Baker with 17 points, built an early 8-2 lead as James Hulbin scored four points in the span. Both teams battled through seven ties and four lead changes in the opening half before a bucket by Forest gave Southeastern a 28-26 lead at halftime.
The Demons took a 45-43 lead with 8:51 remaining when Damon Jones drained a 3-pointer. The Lions tied the game at 45-45 when Tibbs drained two free throws and after Will Pratt scored on a layup, Tibbs answered with a 3-pointer with 8:09 left that gave Southeastern a 48-47 lead it would not relinquish.
Pratt added 10 points for Northwestern State while William Mosley pulled down a career-high 21 rebounds. Marks grabbed a season-high nine rebounds for the Lions while Deshawn Patterson dished out six assists and grabbed seven rebounds.
Southeastern will return to action on Saturday when it hosts Sam Houston State at the University Center. Tipoff is scheduled for 3 p.m.
SOUTHEASTERN LOUISIANA (10-5, 2-0 SLC)
Forest 7-18 2-6 18; Marks 6-7 0-1 12; Tibbs 2-3 5-6 10; Jones 2-4 5-6 10; Sullivan 4-6 0-2 8; Dixon 2-8 1-2 6; Patterson 1-2 2-6 4; Ndoumba 0-0 1-2 1; Burches 0-0 1-2 1; Hutchin 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 24-50 17-33 70.
NORTHWESTERN STATE (5-10, 0-2 SLC)
Baker 5-14 4-7 17; Pratt 4-9 2-4 10; Jones 2-6 3-4 8; Hulbin 2-8 2-2 6; M. McConathy 1-10 3-4 5; Mosley 2-4 1-4 5; Davis 1-4 2-2 4; Knight 2-6 0-0 4; Clark 1-3 0-0 3; Brooks 1-2 0-0 2; Evans 0-0 0-0 0; L. McConathy 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 21-67 17-27 64.
Halftime – SLU 28, NWLA 26. 3-point goals – SLU 5-16 (Forest 2-7; Jones 1-2; Dixon 1-4; Tibbs 1-1; Hutchin 0-2), NWLA 5-16 (Baker 3-5; Clark 1-3; Jones 1-2; M. McConathy 0-4; Knight 0-1; L. McConathy 0-1). Fouled out - Marks, Sullivan, Pratt. Rebounds – SLU 46 (Marks 9), NWLA 43 (Mosley 21). Assists – SLU 17 (Patterson 6), NWLA 10 (M. McConathy 4). Total fouls – SLU 26, NWLA 26. Technical fouls - Ndoumba, Pratt. A – 1,842.
