HAMMOND – The Southeastern Louisiana University men's basketball team looks to equal its best four-game Southland Conference start since the 2004-05 season when it plays host to archrival Nicholls State on Saturday at the University Center.
Tipoff is scheduled for 4 p.m. and is the nightcap of a doubleheader that features the Southeastern women's team against Nicholls State that begins at 2. Both games can be heard in the Hammond area on KSLU-FM (90.9), on the internet at www.LionSports.net, on the KSLU iPhone app and TuneIn Radio. A live video stream (subscription required), courtesy of LionVision, is available by accessing the Fan Zone at www.LionSports.net.
Tickets are available on-line at www.LionSports.net or beginning at 1 p.m. at the University Center Ticket Office, located at Gate 3.
Southeastern (4-9, 2-1 SLC) last posted a 3-1 mark in league play when the Lions opened the 2004-05 campaign under former coach Billy Kennedy with wins over Lamar, UT Arlington and Sam Houston State before a 65-63 loss at Northwestern State.
In its last game on Monday, Southeastern built a 15-point lead in the first half before eventually rallying in the final minute to defeat Lamar, 67-63.
Dre Evans scored a season-high 20 points for Southeastern with
Roosevelt Johnson adding 15 and
Brandon Fortenberry 11. As a team, Southeastern shot 47 percent (26-for-55) from the floor against Lamar – its second-best outing of the season and fourth consecutive game shooting over 40 percent after eclipsing the mark once in the first nine contests.
Fortenberry, who is six points shy of passing former Lion Ricky Woods (1,065 points from 2004-06) for 14th place on the school's all-time list, leads Southeastern in scoring with 12.8 points per game. The fifth-year senior has averaged 16.0 points, 4.0 rebounds and 3.3 assists in Southland Conference play as Southeastern has averaged 70.3 points in league play.
Johnson is next in scoring for the Lions at 11.1 points per game while grabbing a team-high 7.7 rebounds. The former Destrehan High product has paced Southeastern in league play with 16.3 points and 7.7 rebounds per contest. Evans and
Jeffery Ricard are next in scoring for Southeastern at 9.5 points per game followed by
Antonnio Benton (5.5 ppg.),
Onochie Ochie (4.7 ppg.) and
Todd Nelson (4.6 ppg.).
Just like Southeastern did in its first three conference games, Nicholls State (3-10, 2-1 SLC) earned a split at home before posting a road victory in its last contest. The Colonels built a 19-point lead on Monday at McNeese State before eventually rallying to record a 64-63 decision. Dantrell Thomas scored a game-high 24 points to lead the Colonels while Fred Hunter came off the bench to record a double-double with 12 points and a game-high 13 rebounds.
Hunter, who missed the 2011-12 season with an injury, leads Nicholls State in scoring (16.4), rebounds (7.3) and steals (17). Thomas is next in scoring for the Colonels at 14.3 points followed by T.J. Carpenter (12.8) and Amin Torres (8.1).
The game will mark the 89th meeting between the rivals with Southeastern holding a 48-40 lead. The teams split the season series in 2011-12 with Nicholls State edging Southeastern, 55-53, in the University Center.
