Box Score Box Score
HAMMOND – Gary Dixon and
Brandon Fortenberry each came off the bench to score a combined 42 points and Southeastern Louisiana shot 57 percent from the floor as it defeated Northwestern State, 93-84, in a Southland Conference contest Saturday night at the University Center.
Dixon scored a season-high 23 points to lead five players in double figures for Southeastern (9-9, 3-3 Southland), going 8-for-11 from the floor and 3-for-5 from behind the 3-point line. Fortenberry, coming off the bench for the second time this season, went 5-for-9 from the floor and dished out a game-high six assists.
David Ndoumba posted his second double-double of the season, and third of his career, with 13 points and a season-high 14 rebounds.
Trent Hutchin added 12 points and
Deshawn Patterson 10 as Southeastern improved to 6-0 at home this season and won its 12th straight on its home floor dating back to last season.
The Lions' bench outscored Northwestern State (12-10, 4-3 Southland), 49-25, while Southeastern shot 57.4 percent (31-for-54) from the floor.
The game featured eight ties and seven lead changes in the opening half before Southeastern snapped a 36-36 tie on a layup by Hutchin with 56 seconds remaining. Ndoumba followed a miss by
Rodney Jones with a jumper in the lane that gave the Lions a 40-36 lead at the break.
Northwestern State closed to within 44-41 on a steal and layup by Louis Ellis with 17:38 remaining in the game, but the Lions used an 11-0 run to push their lead to 55-41 on a pair of free throws by Dixon with 13:15 left.
After the Demons closed the deficit to 76-69 on a jumper by Will Pratt at the 4:10 mark, Southeastern went on a 7-0 run, capped on a dunk by
Jason Marks, to match its biggest lead.
Devon Baker scored a career-high 31 points for Northwestern State, including 19 in the final 5:46. Pratt and James Hulbin added 14 points each for the Demons, who entered the game as co-leaders in the Southland East Division with McNeese State.
Southeastern held Northwestern State to 41.3 percent (26-for-63) from the floor and outscored the Demons in the second half, 53-48.
Southeastern will play its next two games on the road beginning Wednesday against Lamar in a 7:05 p.m. contest in Beaumont, Texas.
NORTHWESTERN STATE (12-10, 4-3 SLC)
Baker 10-20 6-7 31; Pratt 4-12 6-8 14; Hulbin 5-6 3-3 14; Ellis 2-7 4-5 8; Knight 2-4 4-4 8; Mosley 3-7 0-4 6; Davis 0-4 2-2 2; Washington 0-0 1-2 1; Stewart 0-1 0-0 0; Evans 0-0 0-0 0; Robinson 0-1 0-0 0; McConathy 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 26-63 26-35 84.
SOUTHEASTERN LOUISIANA (9-9, 3-3 SLC)
Dixon 8-11 4-5 23; Fortenberry 5-9 7-8 19; Ndoumba 5-10 3-6 13; Hutchin 4-8 2-2 12; Patterson 2-5 6-9 10; Marks 4-4 1-2 9; Jones 3-5 0-0 6; Johnson 0-1 1-3 1; Benton 0-0 0-0 0; Harrel 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 31-54 24-35 93.
Halftime – SLU 40, NSU 36. 3-point goals - NSU 6-17 (Baker 5-8; Hulbin 1-2; Ellis 0-4; Davis 0-1; Robinson 0-1; Pratt 0-1), SLU 7-15 (Dixon 3-5; Fortenberry 2-3; Hutchin 2-4; Jones 0-1; Harrel 0-1; Patterson 0-1). Fouled out - Knight, Pratt. Rebounds - NSU 37 (Mosley 10), SLU 37 (Ndoumba 14). Assists - NSU 11 (Baker 3), SLU 22 (Fortenberry, Patterson 6). Total fouls – NSU 30, SLU 26. Technical fouls - None. A – 1,019.
