KATY, Texas – Southeastern Louisiana University makes its seventh consecutive appearance in the State Farm Southland Conference Tournament when it faces Texas State in a quarterfinal matchup at the Merrell Center.
Tipoff is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. The game can be heard in the Hammond area on KSLU-FM (90.9) and on the internet at www.LionSports.net. Live video, courtesy of Southland Now, will also be available via the internet at www.LionSports.net.
Four games are scheduled for Wednesday with No. 2 seeded Stephen F. Austin (21-8) facing No. 7-seed UT Arlington (16-13) at noon, third-seeded Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (16-14) battling sixth-seeded UTSA (19-10) at 2:30 p.m. and top-seeded Sam Houston State (22-7) facing eighth-seeded Nicholls State (11-18).
Southeastern (18-11, 10-6 SLC), the No. 4 seed in the eight-team field, won four of its final five contests to finish one game behind SLC East Division champion and second-seeded Stephen F. Austin. The Lions closed out the season with three consecutive victories beginning with a 65-60 overtime decision at Central Arkansas, a 60-59 thriller against McNeese State and a come-from-behind 86-77 win over visiting Northwestern State.
The Lions look for their first win in postseason play since winning the 2005 Southland Conference Tournament title with a 49-42 victory at Northwestern State. In the last year of playing postseason games at home site, Southeastern dropped a 68-65 contest to visiting Lamar in 2006 before falling to Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (2007), Northwestern State (2008) and defending champion SFA (2009).
Patrick Sullivan, who was named second-team All-Southland Conference earlier on Tuesday, leads Southeastern in scoring (15.7), rebounds (8.7), blocked shots (94) and field goal percentage (.531). Sullivan, who finished sixth in the league in scoring, third in rebounds, sixth in field goal percentage and second in blocked shots, scored in double figures in 25 games for the Lions including nine games with 20 or more points.
The four-year letterwinner looks to build on a career at Southeastern that has placed him in the top 10 in five categories. The Orlando, Fla., product is eighth in school history in scoring (1,252 points), is first in games played (119) and blocked shots (269) and fourth in rebounds (783) and field goal percentage (.561).
Newcomer
Trent Hutchin is next in scoring for the Lions at 10.6 points per game followed by
Brandon Fortenberry (8.1),
Gary Dixon (7.8),
Rodney Jones (7.6),
Robert Tibbs (5.7) and
Deshawn Patterson (5.5). As a team, Southeastern averages 72.1 points per game while allowing 65.8.
The Lions, who are third in the league in scoring defense, pace the conference in field goal shooting (47.5 percent), field goal defense (39.5), 3-point field goal percentage (.38.5) and blocked shots (5.5).
Texas State (15-15), making its second straight appearance in the postseason, closed out the regular-season with three straight wins – two of them on the road – in earning its 16th career appearance in the postseason.
The Bobcats opened their current streak with an 89-75 win at Northwestern State before defeating arch-rival UTSA (83-76) and Sam Houston State (101-97 in overtime). Texas State possesses the league's second-highest scoring team (77.1) and is second in 3-pointers made per game (6.8).
Cameron Johnson, a third-team All-Southland pick, leads Texas State in scoring (14.3) and rebounds (7.9) while Ryan White (10.3) is next in scoring. John Rybak (9.6) and J.B. Conley (9.1) are next in scoring for the Bobcats, who have lost their last three games in the Southland Conference Tournament since 2003.
Southeastern claimed the only meeting between the schools with a come-from-behind 75-66 victory on Feb. 3. in the University Center. Sullivan nearly posted a triple-double with 23 points, 10 rebounds and eight blocks while Patterson scored a career-high 21 points in the contest.
The Lions trailed by as many as 12 points in the first half before outscoring Texas State, 46-34, in the final 20 minutes. Tony Bishop came off the bench to lead the Bobcats with 19 points while White added 15.
The winner will face the SHSU-Nicholls State on Thursday at 8:30 p.m. The overall winner will claim the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Championships.
