Box Score Box Score
THIBODAUX – Patrick Sullivan and
Trent Hutchin each scored a career-high 27 points and Southeastern Louisiana kept up a blistering offensive attack as it shot 65 percent for the game and pulled away to an 84-65 win over Nicholls State in a Southland Conference game Saturday at Stopher Gym.
Rodney Jones added 11 points and
Robert Tibbs 10 as Southeastern (12-8, 4-3 Southland) outscored NSU (7-13, 3-4 Southland), 42-25, in the second half. The Lions turned in their seventh-best shooting performance in school history as they finished 31-for-48 (64.6 percent) from the floor and 9-for-13 (69.2 percent) from behind the 3-point arc.
“This was a very good win for us on the road against a very well-coached team in Nicholls State,” Southeastern head coach Jim Yarbrough said. “To come in here (Stopher Gym) and shoot the ball the way we did was a key for us. We did a great job on the boards and really wore them down late.”
Sullivan, who finished 11-for-14 from the floor and grabbed 12 rebounds in notching his 18th career double-double, scored four points in a 10-2 run that turned a 47-44 lead into a 57-46 advantage with 12:59 left. The senior opened the run with a layup before Hutchin buried back-to-back 3-pointers that gave Southeastern a 55-44 lead.
After Anatoly Bose cut the lead to 55-46 on a short jumper, Sullivan put an exclamation point on his afternoon as he took a pass from
Brandon Fortenberry, got away from a Nicholls defender and slammed home a bucket that gave the Lions a 57-46 lead.
The Colonels, who lost at home for the first time in nine games dating back to last season, got as close as 61-52 on a free throw by Bose, but the Lions pushed their lead to 76-56 on a three-point play by Sullivan with 4:26 left.
With Sullivan dominating on the inside, Hutchin was blistering from the outside. The junior finished 10-for-14 from the floor and was 7-for-9 from behind the 3-point line in his first start since Dec. 14 at LSU. Hutchin was 6-for-7 from the floor in the second half and 4-for-5 from behind the 3-point line.
Both teams shot the ball well in the opening half as Southeastern led 42-40 at the break. The Lions went 16-for-23 from the floor (69.6 percent) in the first 20 minutes and 5-for-7 from long range while Nicholls was 15-for-30 (50.0 percent) and 8-for-14 from behind the 3-point line.
Hunter led Nicholls with 27 points and nine rebounds while Bose scored 24. The Colonels went 8-for-23 (34.8 percent) in the second half and finished 23-for-53 (43.4 percent) for the game and 9-for-22 from behind the 3-point line.
Southeastern will return to action on Wednesday when it plays host to Texas State (10-11, 4-3 Southland) in a 7 p.m. contest in the University Center. Tickets are available by calling the Southeastern Athletic Ticket Office at (985) 549-LION or on-line at www.LionSports.net.
SOUTHEASTERN LOUISIANA (12-8, 4-3 SLC)
Sullivan 11-14 5-6 27; Hutchin 10-14 0-0 27; Jones 3-7 4-5 11; Tibbs 3-4 3-3 10; Fortenberry 3-4 1-2 7; Marks 1-2 0-0 2; Wong 0-1 0-0 0; Ndoumba 0-0 0-0 0; Patterson 0-1 0-0 0; Burches 0-1 0-0 0; Johnson 0-0 0-2 0. Totals 31-48 13-18 84.
NICHOLLS STATE (7-13, 3-4 SLC)
Hunter 9-15 8-16 27; Bose 9-20 2-5 24; Franklin 2-4 0-0 6; Iles 2-7 0-0 6; Carter 1-1 0-0 2; Friend 0-1 0-0 0; McCallum 0-4 0-0 0; Triggs 0-1 0-0 0; Ward 0-0 0-0 0; Smith 0-0 0-0 0; Martin 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 23-53 10-21 65.
Halftime – SLU 42, NSU 40. 3-point goals – SLU 9-13 (Hutchin 7-9; Jones 1-1; Tibbs 1-2; Burches 0-1), NSU 9-22 (Bose 4-10; Iles 2-4; Franklin 2-4; Hunter 1-3; Triggs 0-1). Fouled out - Marks. Rebounds – SLU 31 (Sullivan 12), NSU 24 (Hunter 9). Assists – SLU 16 (Fortenberry 5), NSU 15 (Three with 4). Total fouls – SLU 20, NSU 17. Technical fouls - None. A – 510.
