Box Score Box Score
HAMMOND – Patrick Sullivan scored 14 of his game-high 20 points in the second half and Southeastern Louisiana shot an impressive 60 percent from the floor as it pulled away and defeated Stephen F. Austin, 66-56, in a contest between the top two teams in the Southland Conference East Division on Saturday at the University Center.
Sullivan, who went 9-for-13 from the floor, grabbed nine rebounds and blocked five shots as Southeastern (15-10, 7-5 SLC) moved to within one game of SFA (18-7, 8-4 SLC) in the East Division standings. The win, which helped the Lions improve to 12-1 at home, was their first over the defending Southland Conference champions in seven games dating back to a 75-73 win in the University Center on Jan. 7, 2006.
“I told our guys at shoot around today that they were playing for first place,” Southeastern head coach Jim Yarbrough said. “To make a march into the postseason, you have to have that mentality. Our final four games down the stretch are not going to be easy, but we need to play each game with that same approach if we're able to make a run into the postseason.”
Southeastern pulled away from a 19-17 slugfest in the opening half, outscoring SFA 47-39 in the final 20 minutes. The Lions shot 60 percent (24-for-40) for the game against one the top scoring defenses in the country, where SFA was ranked No. 22 nationally. Southeastern, the league's top shooting team and leader in field goal defense (39.8 percent), went 16-for-23 (69.6 percent) in the second half while holding the Lumberjacks to 20-for-60 (33.3 percent) for the game.
The Lions were dominant inside the paint against SFA, holding a 36-14 advantage while the Southeastern bench outscored the Lumberjacks, 29-5.
Brandon Fortenberry came off the bench to score 12 points for the Lions while
Gary Dixon added 10.
Jason Marks led Southeastern with 10 rebounds while
Deshawn Patterson dished out a team-high four assists.
Jordan Glynn's bucket with 15:44 remaining tied the game at 24-24 before Southeastern went on a 10-3 run to take the lead for good.
Rodney Jones forged a tie at 26-26 with a jumper in the lane with 14:09 left and drained a 3-pointer from the left wing that put the Lions ahead for good, 29-27.
Dixon followed with a 3-pointer that gave Southeastern a 32-27 advantage and
David Ndoumba scored on a driving layup that put the Lions up 34-27 with 12:15 remaining.
SFA scored the next five points as Jereal Scott hit a pair of free throws and Eddie Williams converted on an acrobatic three-point play, but that would be as close as the Lumberjacks would get as Sullivan hit short jumper, Jones scored on a layup off a steal by Fortenberry and Dixon hit a running jumper in the lane for a 40-32 lead with 9:24 left.
Williams led SFA with 16 points while Scott added 14 and Walt Harris 10. Jordan Glynn pulled down 15 rebounds for the Lumberjacks, who held a 34-28 advantage on the glass including 17 offensive boards.
Southeastern will return to action on Wednesday when it travels to face Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in a 7 p.m. contest at the American Bank Center.
STEPHEN F. AUSTIN (18-7, 8-4 SLC)
Williams 5-14 4-5 16; Scott 5-9 4-4 14; Harris 3-12 2-4 10; Glynn 3-8 0-0 6; Bell 2-6 0-0 5; Tims 2-7 0-2 4; Barnes 0-4 1-2 1; Reinke 0-0 0-0 0; Gomillia 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 20-60 11-17 56.
SOUTHEASTERN LOUISIANA (15-10, 7-5 SLC)
Sullivan 9-13 2-6 20; Fortenberry 3-3 6-8 12; Dixon 3-4 2-2 10; Jones 3-7 0-0 7; Patterson 2-3 3-4 7; Ndoumba 2-2 1-2 5; Hutchin 1-4 1-1 3; Burches 1-1 0-0 2; Marks 0-3 0-2 0. Totals 24-40 15-25 66.
Halftime – SLU 19, SFA 17. 3-point goals – SFA 5-12 (Harris 2-4; Williams 2-5; Bell 1-2; Tims 0-1), SLU 3-5 (Dixon 2-3; Jones 1-2). Fouled out - None. Rebounds – SFA 34 (Glynn 15), SLU 28 (Marks 10). Assists – SFA 13 (Bell 4), SLU 12 (Patterson 4). Total fouls – SFA 20, SLU 18. Technical fouls - None. A – 1,056.
