Box Score Box Score
HAMMOND – Brandon Fortenberry scored 13 of his team-high 16 points in the second half and Southeastern Louisiana snapped a three-game losing streak as it rallied to defeat Central Arkansas, 74-63, on Saturday at the University Center.
Roosevelt Johnson came off the bench to add 15 points as Southeastern (13-13, 7-7 SLC) rallied from a six-point, first-half deficit and outscored UCA (5-22, 1-13 SLC), 47-35, in the final 20 minutes.
Trent Hutchin added 11 points for the Lions, who made eight 3-pointers in contest after going 0-for-12 in a 62-59 loss at UCA on Jan. 26.
David Ndoumba and
Deshawn Patterson each added 10 points for Southeastern, which went 15-for-28 (54 percent) in the second half and 25-for-56 (45 percent) for the game.
UCA built an early 9-3 lead on a 3-pointer by Imad Qahwash before Southeastern used a 16-7 run, capped by a 3-pointer by
Antonnio Benton to take a 19-16 lead with 10:14 remaining in the first half. Neither team led by as many as three points the remainder of the half as the Bears closed out with a 6-2 run to take a 28-27 lead at the break.
The Bears built a 38-36 lead on Mark Rutledge's three-point play at the 15:47 mark, but Southeastern tied the game on a jumper by Johnson before a three-point play by Fortenberry gave Southeastern the lead for good, 41-38, with 14:36 remaining in the contest.
Rutledge led all players with a career-high 23 points on 9 of 14 shooting for the Bears. Dewan Clayborn and Mike Pouncy added nine points each for UCA, which finished 20-for-51 overall from the floor (39 percent) and 10-for-30 (33 percent) in the second half.
Southeastern will return to action on Wednesday when it travels to face in-state rival McNeese State in a 7 p.m. game at Burton Coliseum.
CENTRAL ARKANSAS (5-22, 1-13 SLC)
Rutledge 9-14 4-5 23; Clayborn 3-6 2-3 9; Pouncy 4-9 1-2 9; Sheppard 1-6 4-4 6; Qahwash 1-5 3-6 6; Tidwell 1-3 2-2 4; Smith 0-3 2-2 2; Williams 0-3 2-2 2; McClinton 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 20-51 20-26 63.
SOUTHEASTERN LOUISIANA (13-13, 7-7 SLC)
Fortenberry 6-14 1-1 16; Johnson 6-7 3-4 15; Hutchin 4-15 0-0 11; Ndoumba 3-4 4-7 10; Patterson 3-4 4-4 10; Dixon 1-6 2-2 5; Marks 1-1 2-2 4; Benton 1-4 0-0 3; Harrel 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 25-56 16-20 74.
Halftime – UCA 28, SLU27. 3-point goals – UCA 3-11 (Clayborn 1-2; Qahwash 1-1; Rutledge 1-3; Smith 0-1; Williams 0-2; Pouncy 0-2), SLU 8-21 (Hutchin 3-9; Fortenberry 3-6; Dixon 1-4; Benton 1-2). Fouled out - None. Rebounds – UCA 37 (Sheppard, Rutledge 7), SLU 30 (Ndoumba, Johnson 6). Assists – UCA 7 (Qahwash 2), SLU 17 (Patterson, DeShawn 7). Total fouls – UCA 19, SLU 20. Technical fouls - None. A – 451.
