Box Score Box Score
HAMMOND – Brandon Fortenberry posted a double-double with 22 points and 10 rebounds while
Trent Hutchin added 21 points as Southeastern Louisiana used a strong second half and defeated UTSA, 79-73, in a Southland Conference game Wednesday at the University Center.
Roosevelt Johnson added 12 points – all in the first half – while
David Ndoumba added nine points and eight rebounds to lead Southeastern (11-10, 5-4 Southland), which won its 13th straight game at home, including its last three against SLC divisional leaders (McNeese State, Northwestern State and UTSA).
Fortenberry, who was one assist shy of becoming the first player since Ricky Woods in 2006 to record a triple double, scored 16 of his points in the final 20 minutes as Southeastern outscored UTSA (12-10, 5-4 Southland), 44-35.
The junior, who tied a career-high in points and set a career-high in rebounds, finished 7-for-14 from the floor, 5-for-6 from the free throw line while adding a pair of blocked shots. Hutchin went 7-for-13 from the floor and went 6-for-9 from behind the 3-point line as Southeastern buried 11 3-pointers.
UTSA, which was led by Devin Gibson's game-high 25 points, shot 63 percent (12-for-19) in the first half led, 38-35, at the break behind 11 points from Melvin Johnson III.
Southeastern clamped down on UTSA in the second half, holding the Roadrunners to 36 percent (11-for-31) from the floor with Johnson going 1-for-5 for three points to finish with 14.
A three-point play and steal and layup by Gibson turned a 51-47 deficit for UTSA into a 52-51 lead with 14:10 remaining in the game before Southeastern's
Gary Dixon buried a 3-pointer to give the Lions the lead for good.
After the Roadrunners closed to within 61-60 on a tip-in by Jeromie Hill, the Lions outscored UTSA 11-1 as Fortenberry scored nine points in the span, including a layup that gave Southeastern a 72-61 lead with 7:00 left.
The Lions finished 29-for-60 (48.3 percent) from the floor and 11-for-22 from behind the 3-point line. Jonesboro native T.J. Williams added 10 points for the Roadrunners while Hill scored nine points and pulled down a team-high 10 rebounds.
Southeastern will return to action on Saturday when it visits Northwestern State in a 2 p.m. contest at Prather Coliseum.
UTSA (12-10, 5-4 SOUTHLAND)
Gibson 9-15 7-8 25; Johnson 4-10 2-2 14; Williams 3-6 4-4 10; Hill 3-9 2-4 9; Franklin 1-4 6-6 8; Paye 2-4 0-0 5; Wilkins 1-2 0-0 2; Wood 0-0 0-0 0; Sims 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 23-50 21-24 73.
SOUTHEASTERN LOUISIANA (11-10, 5-4 SOUTHLAND)
Fortenberry 7-14 5-6 22; Hutchin 7-13 1-2 21; Johnson 6-9 0-0 12; Ndoumba 4-6 1-2 9; Dixon 2-9 2-2 8; Patterson 2-6 0-0 4; Marks 1-2 0-0 2; Jones 0-1 1-2 1; Harrel 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 29-60 10-14 79.
Halftime – UTSA 38, SLU 35. 3-point goals - UTSA 6-13 (Johnson 4-6; Paye 1-2; Hill 1-2; Franklin 0-1; Gibson 0-2), SLU 11-22 (Hutchin 6-9; Fortenberry 3-7; Dixon 2-6). Fouled out - Marks. Rebounds - UTSA 31 (Hill 10), SLU 32 (Fortenberry 10). Assists - UTSA 10 (Gibson 4), SLU 23 (Fortenberry 9). Total fouls - UTSA 15, SLU 21. Technical fouls - None. A – 720.
