HAMMOND – The Southeastern Louisiana University men's basketball team closes out the 2011-12 season on Saturday when it travels to face arch-rival Nicholls State in a Southland Conference game at Stopher Gym.
Tipoff is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. The game can be heard in the Hammond area on KSLU-FM (90.9) and on the internet at www.LionSports.net.
Southeastern (11-17, 4-11 SLC) will look to build on a 64-57 win over East Division leader McNeese State on Wednesday while heading into the offseason on a two-game winning streak. The Lions used an 11-2 run late in the first half to pull away from a 21-all deadlock and eventually build a 15-point lead.
Roosevelt Johnson continued his stellar play of late by scoring a season-high 24 points (the most by a Lion in 2011-12) with
Todd Nelson adding 15 and
Elgin Bailey 10. The victory by Southeastern snapped a two-game losing streak with both losses coming by one point each.
Johnson, one of four starters and 10 letterwinners slated to return in 2012-13, leads Southeastern in scoring (11.4) and rebounding (7.8). Bailey, one of two seniors on the team, is next in both scoring (8.7) and rebounds (6.4) with
Jeremy Campbell (7.5),
Daron Populist (7.4), Nelson (6.0) and Houma native
DeShawn Patterson (5.9) next in the scoring column.
Nicholls State (10-18, 6-9 SLC), which will compete in next week's Southland Conference Tournament in Katy, Texas, had its two-game winning streak snapped in a 92-61 decision at Northwestern State on Wednesday.
Freshman Trevon Lewis leads the Colonels in scoring (13.5) and rebounds (5.5) per game with Dantrell Thomas next in the scoring column at 11.5. Sam McBeath (8.4), Chris Talkington (8.2), Bryan Hammond (8.0) and Shane Rillieaux (7.7) are next for Nicholls State, which averages 67.2 points per game and are 6-5 at home this season.
Nicholls State claimed the previous meeting between the teams, 55-53, as Hammond scored on a layup with 22 seconds remaining. The Lions, who fell to the Colonels at home for the first time in three years, shot 7-for-21 from the free throw line while Nicholls State shot 19-for-43 from the field (44.2 percent) with eight 3-pointers.
