KATY, Texas – Southeastern Louisiana University opens play in the 2011 State Farm Southland Conference Basketball Tournament on Wednesday when it battles fourth-seeded Texas State at the Leonard E. 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 streaming, courtesy of SLC NOW, is available at www.LionSports.net.

The winner between fifth-seeded Southeastern (15-13) and Texas State (15-15) will face either top-seeded McNeese State or No. 8-seeded Nicholls State in a semifinal contest on Thursday at 8:33 p.m.

Making its eighth straight appearance in the Southland Conference Tournament, Southeastern opens against Texas State for the second consecutive year and the third time since the 2005 postseason. The Lions claimed a 75-58 win over the Bobcats en route to the 2005 championship and rallied from a 17-point deficit to stake a 79-78 victory in last season's contest.

Paced by third-team All-Southland Conference selections Trent Hutchin and Brandon Fortenberry, Southeastern enters the tournament on a three-game winning streak that included wins over Central Arkansas, regular-season champion McNeese State and Nicholls State.

Hutchin, eighth in the Southland Conference in scoring, leads Southeastern at 14.8 points per game while leading the league in free throw shooting (62-for-67, .925 percent) and 3-pointers made per game (2.8). Fortenberry, fourth in the Southland Conference in assists (4.3), is second on the team in scoring at 12.1 points per game followed by David Ndoumba (10.9) and Gary Dixon (8.9).

Deshawn Patterson (6.1) is next in scoring for Southeastern, which averages 70.1 points per game while allowing 69.0. Roosevelt Johnson (5.6), Jason Marks (4.9), Antonnio Benton (3.1), Jeremy Campbell (2.1) and Michael Harrel (1.6) are key contributors for the Lions.

Texas State, making its third straight appearance in the Southland Conference Tournament, dropped its last two games after being tied with McNeese State for the overall league lead heading into the final week of the season. The Bobcats suffered a 113-102 loss at Lamar last Wednesday before a 68-52 setback at Sam Houston State on Saturday.

All-Conference performers Cameron Johnson (12.9), Tony Bishop (12.8) and Ryan White (11.3) lead a Texas State squad that averages 78.4 points per game while allowing the same. Eddie Rios (9.2), Travis Jones (7.6) and John Bowman (5.8) are part of a Bobcat team that went 11-3 at home, including a perfect 8-0 mark in league play.

Texas State rallied from a 13-point deficit in the previous meeting between the schools to claim an 82-69 win on Feb. 23 in San Marcos. Bishop tallied a double-double with 22 points and 10 rebounds for Texas State while Johnson scored 12 of his 16 points in the second half.

Hutchin led Southeastern with 18 points with Ndoumba adding 17. The Lions finished 26-for-53 (49.1 percent) from the floor, but allowed the Bobcats to shoot a blistering 21-for-27 (77.8 percent) in the second half to claim the win.

Tickets are on sale for the 2011 State Farm Southland Conference Basketball Tournament at the Merrell Center box office and on Ticketmaster.com. Reserved all-tournament passes are available for $75, while general admission all-tournament passes are available for $60. Tickets are also available for each session of the tournament. A reserved ticket for each session is $18, while a general admission ticket is $13. Tickets to each championship game are $15 for a reserved ticket or $10 for general admission.

The first six games of the tournament will also be streamed for free on SLC NOW on Southland.org to those who register for the service. Additionally, the Southland TV broadcasts of both semifinals as well as the championship game will be available on ESPN3.com.